


And So It Begins

by RyanInTheTARDIS



Category: Bully (Video Games)
Genre: Boarding School, Bullworth Academy, High School, M/M, Major Original Character(s), Multi, Original Character(s), Original Character-centric, Other, Romance, School Life, Teenagers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-11
Updated: 2015-07-11
Packaged: 2018-04-08 20:25:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 10
Words: 31,627
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4318833
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RyanInTheTARDIS/pseuds/RyanInTheTARDIS
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The prestigious Bullworth Academy gains a new student, Daniel St. James, only having received Jimmy Hopkins the day before. As Daniel tries to make new friends, avoid making enemies, and generally survive school, Gary's plans are at work and no-one is safe from him, not even the new kid.</p>
<p>While this does follow the narrative of the main game, it will include elements that were only in the Scholarship Edition remake. This story has been uploaded to my fanfiction.net account under the same name, but I have made some edits to old chapters since then.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

My name is Daniel St. James, and I am standing at the gates of Bullworth Academy.

The cab ride was awkward, to say the least. The driver was uninterested in me, so long as he was paid. I didn't mind. Talking to strangers wasn't something I did often. I just sat in the back, listening to the music on my phone as I tried to bottle the nerves that were inside me, threatening to spill out onto the cab floor. I looked out the window, taking in the sights of Bullworth Vale. I smiled as I saw the pier, jutting out to stand over the freezing September water, which lapped gently at the sand below. I imagined it must be nice in the summer months.

Looking out the other side, I saw shops, the kind that sold things you would expect to be sold in a town like this; groceries, clothes, a number of cafes, a barber. There was even a bike shop, and a cinema, which were luxurious for such a small town. As the car turned onto a bridge, I could see the tall building of the school looming. I swallowed dryly as the cab came to a halt outside the gates. I got out, retrieved my suitcase from the trunk, and handed the driver his money. Before he'd sped off, I could've sworn I heard him say "Good luck, kid." I hoped I wouldn't need it.

I was somewhat upset, that neither of my parents had been able to bring me here personally, but they were busy people, and it hadn't been the first time they couldn't be around because of work.

I stared up at the gates, which were a good couple of metres high, topped with spikes. The gates were covered with a huge stone archway, atop which sat an ugly, winged gargoyle, and under it were the words "Bullworth Academy".

A faint tapping noise made me look down, and I saw a middle-aged woman walking towards me, with brown hair, pearl earrings, and wearing a suit, matching mini-skirt and heels, all in black. As she got closer, the gates slowly opened, and she stepped out to meet me.

"I'm Miss Danvers. You must be Daniel?" she asked, looking down at me. "Welcome to Bullworth Academy, your new home." She said, giving off an air of grandness about the whole situation. "Now, come with me, boy, I don't have all day. You need to meet with Dr. Crabblesnitch" I had to suppress my laughter at the name. "who will explain to you how things are done here. He's a busy man, so you'll need to hurry."

"Yes, ma'am." I answered politely, grabbing the handle of my suitcase and starting to pull it behind me, its small wheels clicking annoyingly on the stone tiles. As I walked behind her, I took a quick look around, taking note of the two buildings to my sides. Both had paths leading under an arch, the left saying "Boys Dorm", the right saying "Girls Dorm". A man, who looked to be in his forties or fifties, was sweeping up nearby and Miss Danvers stuck out her hand, signalling me to stop, before shouting to him.

"Dennis! Come here!" she yelled, making the man look up and walk over. He looked somewhat annoyed that his work had been interrupted, but nonetheless smiled at Miss Danvers. "Daniel, this is Mr. Luntz, he runs the school shop, and is the school's Sanitation Engineer." She explained to me, and I gave him a small wave. "Mr. Luntz, take Daniel's case to the Boys Dorm." She ordered, and he took the handle from me, muttering something about not being their slave as he did so. "Come along, boy." She barked, and I followed her once more. I wished she would stop calling me boy. I was only 15.

Taking another quick moment to look around, I noticed that the grounds around the school were deserted. Not a single other student was in sight. ' _Maybe they're all in classes?_ ' I thought, as Miss Danvers led me into the school building.

Even the inside was empty, aside from men in blue blazers walking up and down the corridors.

"Those are the prefects." Miss Danvers commented, noticing me looking at them. "If they find you out of class when you shouldn't be, they will take you there, by force, if necessary, and if they see you causing trouble, they will take you straight to Dr. Crabblesnitch's office." She explained, before looking over her shoulder at me. "So don't cause trouble." She said, her eyes sharpening into a fierce glare.

' _If looks could kill._ '

I followed her up a flight of stairs, and into an office, where she knocked lightly on a door leading into another room

"Dr. Crabblesnitch?" she called, her voice taking on a newfound tone of sweetness. "There's a student here to see you." She added, glaring at me once more.

"It's not that Hopkins boy again, is it?" a voice called from inside the room.

"No, no, this is the  _other_  new student; Daniel St. James." she replied, still using that sickeningly sweet tone. ' _Other new student?_ ' I took solace in the fact that there was another new student, and hoped that wasn't where the commonalities would end.

"Right, Miss Danvers. Send him in." the voice said. I quickly flattened down my hair, and tried to flatten out any wrinkles in my shirt.

"In you go, boy, don't keep Dr. Crabblesnitch waiting." Came Miss Danvers' harsh voice. I took a final, calming breath before pushing the door open and walking into the room.

The walls were covered with bookshelves, and black and white pictures of men, presumably head teachers of times gone by. There was a large, elegant fireplace against one wall, atop which sat a large, stuffed eagle. In front of the fireplace was a solid oak desk, with a lamp and some papers on. Behind the desk, sat a stern-looking man, with greying hair, who looked to be in his late fifties.

"You must be our new student, St. James, is it?" he asked, as I stepped forward, taking a seat in one of the chairs in front of the desk

"Yes, sir, that's me." I replied. He looked surprised that I had called him sir, but carried on nevertheless.

"I remember hearing about your… situation. You've had a rough time of late, it seems." I nodded, agreeing with him. He stood from his cushy armchair, picked up a piece of paper, and started to pace from side to side in front of the fireplace. "It says here you had to leave your last three schools due to severe homophobic bullying, yes?" I nodded again.

I had transferred out of my last three schools, because people kept bullying me for being gay. It wasn't like I just woke up one morning and thought "I'm going to piss everyone off by liking boys.", I just wasn't attracted to girls like I was to guys. But the people in those schools had thought that it wasn't something I should like.

The first school was just lots of people, picking on me constantly, the pressure just building, and building until I had a breakdown in the middle of a maths lesson. But it wasn't until the fourth episode that the teachers thought I'd be better off somewhere else.

But the second school was no better. These kids were violent. I missed two months of education, because some students took it upon themselves to try and "beat the gay" out of me, breaking my leg in the process.

While in hospital, I was transferred again. While the kids here weren't as violent as the last, they would still shove and punch me when they could. It got so bad, that… and I'm not proud to admit it, but I almost attempted to kill myself. But my friends, they talked me out of it, made me realise I'd be hurting more people than I'd be helping. The friends that I left behind, after my parents decided to send me here.

And here I was.

Dr. Crabblesnitch kept reading over the paper in his hand, glancing at me from time to time while he read. Eventually, he set the paper back down, and looked at me. "Well, , I'll tell you now, that regardless of the reason, the prefects and staff here at Bullworth all take bullying very seriously. While I can't promise you that you will be accepted by every student, I can promise that if you're bullied, it  _will_  be dealt with." I allowed myself to smile, despite taking only little security in that fact.

"We have some of the worst students around, so naturally, some may pick on you, but Bullworth prides itself on having students with clean noses," the phrase was lost on me, as I assumed that there was a flu-bug sweeping the school. "and we'll expect no less of you. You  _will_  have a clean nose, or it shall be cleaned for you." He locked eyes with me, silent for a moment before looking to the door. "Miss Danvers?" he called, summoning the woman to the door.

"Yes, Dr. Crabblesnitch?" she simpered, smiling sweetly at the man.

"Could you please show St. James here to the Boys Dorm?" he asked.

"Of course, headmaster." She said, before turning to glare at me once more. "Hurry up, boy." She said, having lost that sweet tone that seemed only for Dr. Crabblesnitch. I rose from my chair, and offered my hand out to Dr. Crabblesnitch.

"Thank you, sir." I said as he took my hand, and shook it firmly. I then followed Miss Danvers out of the study, where she vaguely explained where the Boys Dorm was, and that she didn't have time to take me there herself, as she was to deal with "that naughty Hopkins boy" again.

Maybe this Hopkins kid wasn't someone I wanted to get along with after all.

Luckily, I remembered passing the Boys Dorm on the way in, so was happy to make my way there without her… ' _pleasant_ ' company.

I took a step out of the office and a bell rang, doors flying open as students bustled into the corridors. A very large, tall student was about to walk into me, if he hadn't stuck his arm out, grabbed me and practically flung me out of the way, sending me crashing back into a wall, yelling something along the lines of "Russell need to pee."

As I sank down the wall and more students passed me, some looking at me as if I were diseased, I sighed quietly.

Maybe I would get used to it eventually, but already I could tell, this was  _not_  going to be an easy year.


	2. Chapter 2

The boys' dormitory didn't look like much from the outside. It looked to be in a state of disrepair, as there was a piece of wood to cover up a broken window, graffiti all over the walls, and there was even a student in a leather jacket throwing eggs at the wall. Considering I had to hand over $5 to some guy in a white shirt just to leave the main building, I didn't hold out much hope for the inside of the dorm being great.

And I was right not to. There was more graffiti on the walls, the sofa in the lounge room was covered in holes, and the smell was kind of off-putting. But it was when I saw the rats running across the floor that I felt like I was going to heave.

I swallowed back the nausea and found my bedroom. I pushed the door open and was greeted by the sight of a small brown-haired lad in just his boxers. He turned and caught my eye, we let out synchronised AH!'s, and I quickly shut the door. ' _I knew I should've knocked._ ' I waited outside the door until the redness in my face passed before knocking on the door.

"Uh, come in." I heard the boy say in a small voice, and I slowly walked back into the room, with a hand over my eyes.

"I am so sorry about just barging in like that, I didn't realise someone would be in here." I said, hoping it would make up for bursting into the room while he was doing whatever one would be doing in their boxers.

"It's okay, man. And I'm decent now, so you're free to look around." The boy said, his voice sounding friendly. Maybe I'd be able to make a friend before the day was out. I dropped my hand and gave the boy a smile. He looked to be about the same age as me, and the colour of his eyes matched that of his hair. He was now dressed in a pink shirt with a navy-blue Bullworth sweater vest, and brown school trousers. "I'm Pete Kowalski." He said, walking over and extending his hand to me. "You must be the new kid? Danny, isn't it?" I took the hand and shook it, smiling.

"Yeah, Daniel St. James, that's me." I dropped his hand and raised an eyebrow at him. "Y'know, I think you're the first student I've met here who hasn't either verbally or physically abused me yet." Pete gave a small laugh.

"Probably the only too, unless Jimmy takes a shine to you."

"Jimmy?"

"The new kid who started yesterday. He'll be glad to be rid of that title already. He seems nice enough, I guess, but Gary's already trying to take him under his wing." I didn't need to ask who Gary was, as almost as if on cue, the door flew open, and a somewhat tall, slim boy with short brown hair and a scar in the middle of his right eyebrow stepped into the room. He wore a teal sweater vest, grey shirt and grey school trousers, and had an air of arrogance about him. He sauntered over to Pete with his hands on his hips, and roughly threw an arm around the small boy's shoulders

"You didn't tell me you were getting a roomie, Petey." He grinned at me, eyes looking up and down, as if he were trying to assess me. "I'll have to try not to wake him up when I sneak in for our late night loving." His voice took on a growl, as he pulled Pete in front of him – and to my, and Pete's, surprise – he bent his head down and bit Pete's neck as he squeezed the boy against him, even going as far as to move a hand to squeeze at Pete's crotch.

Pete's face went a deep shade of red as he bit his lip, face screwing up at the boy's attack. My own eyebrows had shot up at least an inch as I watched what was happening in front of me, and I felt compelled to look away from the intimate scene. The tall boy's eyes opened to look at me, gauging my reaction before he released Pete's neck from his mouth, and moved it to his ear. "Although, judging from the fact he can't stop looking at us, maybe he'll want to join in?" His smirk was practically dripping with something I couldn't quite register, but he quickly took his arms from around Pete and pushed him across the room, luckily to land on one of the beds. Pete rolled over onto his back and sat up, looking at the other boy, but not meeting his eyes.

"Get lost, Gary." He said in a small voice. It was clear that failing to stand up to Gary was something that Pete did often, as Gary brushed off the remark and began stepping towards me.

"So, are you here to make an honest woman out of Petey, or are you just going to use him for your sick little games like the jocks do?" I barely had a second to respond before he had turned away and walked towards Pete, who was now back on his feet. "Because if you harm a hair on my precious Petey's head, so help me, I will..." he paused for a moment, before he jabbed Pete hard in the stomach with his fist, the blow winding Pete and knocking him to the floor.

As Pete lay struggling to catch his breath, Gary laughed maliciously. "Oh, Femme-boy, when will you grow a back bone?" He sneered down at Pete. He turned on his heel and waved his hand as if he were brushing Pete away and began to head for the door, pausing as he passed me. "Where are my manners?" he asked as he put out his hand towards me. "I've not introduced myself. I'm Gary." The corner of his mouth twitched in a smile as he could see me deciding whether or not I wanted to touch him. After a moment, I finally took his hand, which locked onto mine with a vice-like grip.

"Daniel." I said through gritted teeth.

"Good to meet you, friend." He grinned, finally letting go of my hand. "It's time I went to see how Jimmy's doing. I hear he beat the crap out of Davis earlier." He chuckled, sounding like he knew more than he was letting on, and gave a short wave before walking out of the room. As the door slowly swung shut, I waved my hand, trying to rid it of the pain. I gave my fingers a flex before remembering Pete was laid out on the floor. I helped him to his feet, finding him as light as he looked.

"Is he always so friendly?" I asked as Pete sat down, lifting his shirt to assess the damage to his stomach.

"He's gotten kinda riled up recently. Thinks Jimmy can help him take over the school or something." He lowered his shirt, folding his arms over his stomach. I sat down next to him and rubbed his back. "But yeah, he's like this a lot. Towards me, at least." After a couple minutes, Pete seemed to relax, and he gave me a small smile. "Is it bad that I'm surprised you haven't hit me yet?"

"Yes." I said with a small laugh as I stood and walked over to the other bed, and pulled my suitcase up onto it. "I'm not a violent person. And even if I was, I've got no reason to hit you." I opened the suitcase to put everything into the wardrobe, and found my own uniform already hanging inside. ' _Guess I should change._ ' I kicked my shoes off and put them at the bottom of the wardrobe before starting to pull off my  _Kingdom Hearts_  tee. I could practically hear Pete's heart rate triple, and I looked at him with a grin. "Feel free to look away if you want." I said, politely turning my back to him.

Folding it up, I heard an "Uh..." from across the room, and the sound of shuffling feet as Pete turned to have his back to me. Just as I'd gotten my black jeans off, leaving me stood in a pair of navy blue boxer-briefs, Pete cleared his throat.

"Was… Ah, I mean… Was Gary right?" I pulled on the brown trousers and turned to Pete as I buckled my belt.

"About…?"

"About you… About what he said about you?" I watched his hands fiddling awkwardly with each other behind his back, and let out a tiny sigh, pinching the bridge of my nose. I knew he was referring to my sexuality. As it happened, Pete mentioning it then made me realise how easily Gary had noticed, or at least made a lucky guess.

I sat on the edge of the bed. "Is that a problem?" I asked, placing the shirt down next to me and holding my head in my hands.

"Oh, no, it's not that, I mean, that's fine, I just..." I had glanced over my shoulder to see Pete turn to look at me. "I just didn't want to assume on something Gary had said. He comes out with some real crap sometimes." He gave a small laugh, and I couldn't stop myself from smiling. It was comforting to know that I'd already found someone who wasn't bothered by having a gay friend, let alone a gay roommate. "I mean, hey, maybe we can go shopping or something, and you could help me pick out clothes?" He laughed again.

"I'm gay, Pete," I said, looking deadpan. "not a 14-year-old girl." Pete looked almost upset at what he'd said, but he relaxed as I cracked a smile and laughed. "There's only one thing you should assume about gay men, Pete, and that's that we like dick. Other than that, assume nothing."

"Thanks for the tip." Pete grinned as I buttoned up the crisp while shirt. Rolling the sleeves up to my elbows before pulling on the navy blue sweater vest, I glanced at myself in the mirror.

It was hardly a flattering uniform, but then again, it probably wasn't designed to be. "I'll get used to it." I muttered to myself, turning to Pete with a smile. "Fancy giving me a half-decent tour of the place? Miss Danvers  _tried_ , but I'm using that term very loosely." Pete nodded and walked for the door.

"You're ready to be unimpressed, right?" He asked, holding open the door.

"I'm pretty sure my opinion of this place can only go up."


	3. Chapter 3

Pete and I left the boys' dormitory after a quick look around the lounge room. Aside from a crappy quality television, a poker table and an out-of-order arcade game, there wasn't a great deal to see. As we made our way towards the main building, I took a look towards the girls' dormitory, and noticed it seemed to be in a much better state than that of the boys'. "Yeah, the school seems to care more about the girls being comfortable than us." Pete commented, noticing where I was looking. "It's all nice and tidy in there, and there are a couple of teachers inside looking after them all."

"You've been inside? I would've thought boys wouldn't be allowed in." I queried.

"They're not. But Gary dragged me along with him one time. And then he locked me inside a cupboard. Ms. Philips, the Art teacher," he added for my benefit upon seeing my confused look at the name. "found me, and was nice enough to let me explain what happened. She's one of the nicer teachers in the school. If Mrs. Peabody had found me, I dread to think what she would've done." He almost shuddered at the thought, but managed to suppress it. "Anyway, there's more to see, and we've got about an hour until first classes start."

Pete took me around to the left of the main building, and pointed out the Library to me. He told me that was where the nerds hung out, and started to go on, but I cut him off, telling him he wouldn't need to explain that to me, and that I would probably visit it before long to check out what sort of books they had lying around. I followed Pete around to the back, and we stopped at the fountain to sit for a moment. The statue of a bull holding a football looked dull and unclean, and in dire need of a good scrub.

Hearing Pete's voice again brought my attention back to him. "Down there, is Harrington House." Pete said, pointing over to the tall building with a dome on the roof. "There's where all the preps hang out. Down there," he pointed in the opposite direction. "is the Auto-shop. You'll usually find the greasers around there."

"Preps? Greasers?" I was confused. None of these terms had come up before in the school's I'd been to before. Realising that made me think about how different this school really was.

"The preps are all upper class and a bit of a snotty bunch. They all wear those blue checked sweaters, see?" he pointed to a tall, strongly-built lad with red hair. "That's Bif. He and all the other preps seem to have a passion for boxing. I'm not sure why, though. Anyway, the greasers all wear leather jackets, that's the easiest way to recognise that lot." I thought back to when I saw a boy in a leather jacket throwing eggs at the boys' dorm, and put two and two together.

Pete gestured behind us, and I turned, seeing a pair of buildings either side of a path that led down to a large field. "The gym's down there. There's a sports hall in one, and a pool in the other. That's the football field right down at the bottom. The jocks run that part of the school." Now that was a term I did know. I saw a tall, muscular guy in a varsity jacket punch a lanky black guy in a green sweater, and quickly decided I would only be going down there when absolutely necessary.

Pete stood and I followed, as he led me around to the other side of the main school building, revealing a large, nigh empty parking lot. "If the teachers drive in, they park here. And once you get a bike from somewhere, you can leave it in the garage over there." He pointed over towards the red door. Unsure how I'd get my hands on a bike, I didn't worry too much about remembering that. A group of boys in white shirts were playing with a couple of footballs, showing off to each other with keepy-uppies, and heading them back and forth.

"Those are the bullies." Pete whispered, not wanting to talk loud enough to garner their attention. "I'd suggest staying away from those guys." I nodded, recognising one of them as the guy who had knocked me over earlier outside Dr. Crabblesnitch's office.

"Is that one Russell?" I asked, pointing to the aforementioned building with feet.

"Yep. He's the boss of the bullies, so try hard not to get on his bad side. Which could be difficult seeing as nearly everyone is on his bad side." Pete turned away to walk around to the front of the building, and I would've followed if I hadn't heard one of the bullies talking. I wasn't sure what was said, but I saw him about to kick a football right in Pete's direction.

As the ball took flight, I instinctively ran the short distance to Pete and, putting my arms around his slender frame, pulled him out of the ball's path. It didn't go quite so perfectly though, as I tripped over one of Pete's feet and fell, bringing him down with me. "Whoa. Thanks, Daniel."

"'Danny's fine." I smiled as we stood up, while the bullies were laughing.

"Oh, look, Petey's  _boyfriend_  saved him!" sneered a spotty, brown-haired boy with a black eye – the one who had kicked the ball. I was unsure whether he said it because he knew I was gay or because Pete was wearing a pink shirt, but either way, it pissed me off.

"I'd rather have Pete for a boyfriend than you." I called back, crossing my arms over my chest. "At least with Pete, I wouldn't get genital warts." I knew I should've kept my mouth shut when I saw his grin fade, and a look of fury appear.

"I'll turn you into a wart, you little brat." He growled as he started to run for us, a blonde and light-brown haired pair of boys soon following him.

"Let's go!" Pete said, grabbing my arm as we began to run away. Pete ran slightly ahead, and I followed, as he led us around to the front of the school, and up the stairs to go inside. Entering the building, Pete darted quickly to the right, and into a toilet at the end of the hall. I'd only just gotten through the toilet door as the bullies came through the main door. ' _Man, those guys are slow_.' Just in case we had been seen, we both hid in the same cubicle – the other was out-of-order – and locked the door.

Pete took the seat, and I quickly told him to lift up his feet, as it would look weird if there were two pairs of feet in one cubicle. He did as I said, and then we waited for about five minutes before I peeked out. The coast was clear, and we both left the cubicle.

"Did you mean what you said?" He asked, sounding kind of shy. I wasn't sure what he meant until I remembered saying that I would rather have him for a boyfriend over the guy with the black eye.

"From what I can tell, you're a nice guy, and he's a prick. So, yeah." I smiled as I noticed he seemed to be very lightly blushing. "Don't worry, that wasn't me asking you out on a date. Not yet, at least." We both smiled, and left the toilets, and with only two minutes before classes began, Pete quickly showed me where each of the classrooms were, and then the cafeteria.

"You think you'll be able to get to your classes without me? I don't think we've got many together." A quick comparison of our timetables showed that we only shared three of our classes, Biology, Gym and Music. Pete frowned, and I had to admit, I was disappointed to know that I'd be surrounded by strangers in all but three of my classes.

Pete looked back to my first lesson of the day, and smiled. "Lucky you, you've got Art first thing. If you're a good artist, Ms. Philips will love you, and even if you're not, she'll be happy to help." He said, and I gave a mental sigh of relief. "You remember where the Art room is, right?" he said, starting to head off to his own class.

"Yeah, I think so." I smiled. "And thanks for the tour. Way better than Miss Danvers' attempt." We smiled to each other as the shrill sound of the bell rang through the building.

"See you at lunch." Pete said with a wave as he turned a corner and disappeared. I turned on the spot and headed for the stairs, quickly making my way towards the Art class room. I walked in and up to the busty, brown-haired woman in the miniskirt I assumed was Ms. Philips and told her who I was. She found me an easel to work at, between a tall red-headed girl, and an empty spot. The lesson began, and Ms. Philips said that we were free to work on our own topics, making or drawing whatever we liked – as long as it linked to the chosen topic. That pleased me, as I knew exactly what my topic would be.

Picking up a pencil and getting ready to sketch out a big, blue box, my hand slipped on the easel as the door flew open, leaving an ugly grey line. I sighed and turned to the door to see a bulky guy in glasses dragging in a boy with a shaved-head and navy blue sweater-vest, not unlike my own. "Get in there, Hopkins, and don't let me catch you being late again!" He barked, pushing the boy further into the classroom.

' _Hopkins? The guy who started yesterday?_ ' I looked the new arrival up and down, deciding he was someone not to be trifled with. I hoped I could avoid getting on his bad side, Pete's warning echoing in my mind. I looked back to my easel, seeing the boy walk over to the empty space beside me out of the corner of my eye. I erased the line and began to work carefully, and tried very hard not to draw attention to myself. Despite getting to draw whatever I liked, I was anxious to be next to Jimmy – if I remember correctly Gary calling him that – for the next couple of hours. Lunch couldn't come fast enough.


	4. Chapter 4

The Art lesson passed by relatively nicely, the only hitches being the mistakes I made to my drawing. I made occasional glances over to Jimmy's easel, and saw that he was painting a picture of Ms. Philips laid out on a couch. He had taken a few…" _artistic liberties_ " but overall, the painting looked pretty nice. For someone who looked like they could knock me out with a third of their strength, he was a good artist.

My own easel only had a bold outline of the subject, ready to have the colour applied to it next week, and then the background to be done the week after. Ms. Philips wasn't sure what I was attempting to draw, but explaining my chosen topic to her, she seemed to be happy with it. She was enthusiastic about Jimmy's painting too. Whether because it was good, or because he had paid particular attention to her natural assets, I don't know.

I quickly left the lesson as the bell rang, and hurried down to the cafeteria. Giving the students an hour and a half for lunch seemed rather generous, as my last school only gave 45 minutes. I saw Pete sat at a table taking a chunk out of an apple, and I gave him a wave. He smiled as he saw me, and pointed to the seat opposite, but I gestured over to where all the cooked food was spread out. He mimed throwing up, and I rolled my eyes as I picked up a tray and walked over to the food.

My eyes flitted from dish to dish, not thinking that much of it looked appetising. I saw what I thought was spaghetti and meatballs, so scooped some onto a plate and took the seat opposite Pete. "Are you sure about that?" he asked, looking down at the plate as if it were diseased.

"What's wrong with it?" I asked, an eyebrow raised.

"Edna cooked it." He grinned. I turned to look at where the food was laid out, and saw a large woman in grey clothes, a hairnet and an apron setting a couple more things out. She then had a violent coughing fit all over – what I assumed to be – a tray of lasagne. I felt my stomach turn and I pushed the plate away. "Smart move." He said while I reached for a banana.

We just sat there for a while, chatting as we slowly ate – we were in no rush with over an hour of break left. We talked about how our classes went, and we had a chance to learn a bit more about the other and I told Pete about how being a gay kid in mainstream schooling had gone for me. "Wow, that makes what I've been through sound pretty tame." He commented, looking surprised that I could still be willing to go to school after it all.

"Things affect people differently. Just because someone else has been through something you consider to be worse than your own experiences, it doesn't lessen the impact they had on you." I said, finishing off the banana.

Pete thought about it for a moment, before nodding in agreement. "You've got a point there." A moment later, a sad look appeared on Pete's face, almost in exactly the same instant as a heavy hand slammed onto my shoulder, startling me.

"Well, well, how's your date, Petey? You must be so bored of hearing this guy spill his history for you. " _Oh, I'm Danny and I've been bullied so tragically, pity me, pity me!_ " Give me a break." Gary's harsh laughter at his own joke made me feel kind of sick, so I pushed myself to my feet.

"If you boys don't mind, I want to go to the library." I said dryly, wanting to get away from Gary. The boy's hand on my shoulder was making me feel uncomfortable.

"I've not upset your little lover, have I?" Gary asked, a fake shock to his tone. "Oh, I'm so sorry, Danny. Here, let's kiss and make up." ' _He wouldn't._ ' He did. I watched with what felt like fear as a smirk appeared across Gary's lips before he grabbed my shoulders and roughly pressed his lips against my own. My eyes practically bulged out of their sockets in surprise, and I was quick to push Gary off of me, and wipe my arm across my lips.

That  _really_  wasn't how I imagined my first kiss would go. I always thought it would be with a really handsome guy, as he held me in his arms and gently kissed me, with light shining down on us and a chorus of cherubs singing. Not stolen from me by some psychotic nutjob who seemed like he was off his meds in the school cafeteria.

"Petey, what do you see in this guy? He's not even a very good kisser." Gary laughed again, and I really did think I was going to throw up. I turned on my heel and walked out of the room, hearing Pete say a quiet "Shut up, Gary" as I left. I quickly made my way to the toilets and emptied my guts into the bowl.

Was I really that affected by having my first kiss taken from me by Gary? I shuddered, and moved to the sink to wash my mouth out. Now, if it had been Pete who'd done it, I wouldn't have minded. Pete, as tiny as he looked, was probably one of those people who was just a naturally good kisser.

I knew I was thinking too hard about it when I realised I wanted Pete to kiss me. I splashed some water on my face, and told myself to stop thinking about it. I'd known Pete less than a day. I was sure I wasn't the type of guy to want to kiss someone as soon as meeting them. Slightly less sure now, but still at least 90% sure.

… 85%.

I took a moment to collect myself before heading out of the building and towards the library. Pushing open the door, I was happy to see a good number of bookshelves lining a large open space in the middle where students could work on desks. I walked in further and saw that there was even a second story with more bookshelves. This felt like a little corner of heaven in a place that seemed like hell.

I saw a woman in a grey dress with her black hair in a bun putting some books back on shelf, and assumed she was the librarian. As I came up next to her, I cleared my throat to get her attention. She turned and looked down her nose at me, and I felt like I was going to get abuse hurled in my direction. I dismissed the feeling, and gave her a small smile. "Excuse me, but I was wondering if you could point me to the fiction section?" I asked politely.

"What's Mr. Galloway got you brats reading now?" She spat, crossing her arms across her chest. I was confused by the names, but using a drop of logic, I assumed that Mr. Galloway was the school's English teacher.

"Oh, it's not for a class, I was just curious to see if there was anything I might fancy reading." She almost looked surprised that there was a student in front of her wanting to read just because they could.

"Erm, well," he said, her voice and features taking on a much friendlier appearance. "it's just up the stairs. All those shelves are fiction." She answered, giving a small smile. I thanked her and made my way to the staircase, accidentally knocking arms with a large boy in a green sweater vest and trousers that didn't look completely fastened.

"Why don't you look where you're going?" He glared, with a nasal laugh. It seemed even the nerdier kids in the school could be mean. Or at least, try to. I apologised quickly and quietly before continuing up the stairs to find any books that looked interesting.

It didn't take long before I found a book called  _Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment_ by James Patterson, and the novel of  _Jurassic Park_  by Michael Crichton. It took me a while to find them as it was now 12:55, and my next lesson was Gym. That meant straying into jock territory. I wasn't sure if that were a good idea with books on me, but I didn't think I'd have the time to get to the dorm and then to the gym, so I would have to risk it.

I quickly got the books checked out, and made my way towards the gym. Pete was sat on the fountain, looking bored out of his mind. He must've noticed me, as he waved to me. He probably wished he hadn't though, because as soon as his attention was distracted, one of the people who looked to be a jock walked past, and as if it were absolutely nothing, pushed Pete into the fountain. I quickly hurried over and helped the spluttering boy out.

"What the hell was that for?" I wondered aloud as I watched Pete drip water. The water had made the pink almost see-through, and his tan skin was visible underneath. He put his arms around himself and tried to hold back his shivering. "You were just sat there, you weren't even doing anything."

"I'm kind of an easy target around here." He said, looking dejected. I glared daggers towards the prat who'd done it, before gesturing towards the gymnasium.

"C'mon, you need to change before you develop pneumonia." I said, pulling him along by the arm. A couple of the other jocks had a few things to say, but we just did our best to ignore them. I got a rough shove from one of them but I kept walking, with Pete close behind. Once in the changing room, I found the locker that I had been given and found it already filled with whatever sports clothes I'd need.

Pete had already begun to peel his wet clothes off, and my earlier conversation with myself snapped into my mind. ' _Don't look at him, Dan, don't even glance his way. You barely know him._ " I quickly went about changing out of my own clothes, and according to the lesson plan, into a wrestling uniform. The thing looked odd to me with its dark blue and muddy cream colours, but I put it on nonetheless. Also not flattering.

As I put my clothes and the two books into the locker, Jimmy walked in, giving a hello to Pete before starting to get changed. Pete responded with a smile and asked if he had met me yet. He looked me up and down before remembering who I was. "You were next to me in Art, right?" I nodded, and extended my hand out to him.

"I'm Daniel." I said, a smile on my face.

"Jimmy." He replied, taking my hand and shaking it. His grip was tight, but not crushing like Gary's had been.

"What you were painting looked really good, by the way." I said, remembering his piece of art.

"Well, that's only because Ms. Philips looks so good, know what I mean?" He grinned, and I let out a somewhat awkward laugh.

"Not really, sorry." I shrugged, trying not to make too big of a deal of it.

"Why, are you gay?" He asked, as he started to change into his own wrestling uniform.

"Yes, actually." I responded, closing my locker and leaning against the wall as I waited for Pete to finish changing.

"Really? Oh, cool." Jimmy said, pulling the uniform up his body. His non-abusive response surprised me. He was the only person other than Pete not to care about my sexuality. It gave me a newfound optimism on what the rest of the year would be like after my first day.

By the time Pete was ready, Jimmy was waiting with me, and we'd had a short chat about what we thought of the school so far. We both agreed that it was a bit of a dump. The three of us then walked out into the sports hall, where a matt was laid out and the teacher, Coach Burton as Pete informed me, summoned Jimmy and another student to the matt. Pete and I sat on the bench and watched as the lesson began.

I had to admit, I was surprised at how my first day had gone. A new friend in less than an hour, first kiss stolen from me by a psycho, and now I seemed to have another person on my side, both of whom having no problem with me being gay. I could only have hope that it would last.


	5. Chapter 5

For a lesson that I never had a passion for, Gym went pretty well. I explained to Coach Burton that I'd not done wrestling in my last school, and he said that Pete and I could practice together. So while we both tried our best to beat the other, we had a bit of a chat and laugh about it too. Burton wasn't too happy about that, but he was more focused on his star pupils than us. Jimmy seemed to be a natural, as he soon had his opponent crying in pain on the floor.

Jimmy and I changed back into our uniforms, whereas Pete was forced to wear his back to the dorm where he could dry off his still damp clothes. "I still can't believe that jerk did that." I said, pushing open the door and feeling the cool autumn air on my face.

"I told you," Jimmy started, hands balling into fists. "this school's full of jumped-up brats who need someone to put them in their place." Pete and I both nodded in agreement.

As we got back into the dorm, Pete and I went into our room, while Jimmy went off to do his own thing. Pete laid his wet clothes on the radiator which the school was too cheap to turn on, while I settled down on my bed with  _Jurassic Park_. Pete seemed more comfortable with me being in the room as he changed, but asked me to keep my eyes on the book as he changed his boxers. I did as I was told, as when I got started, it was hard to pull me out of a book. Pete finished changing and said he was going to try and watch the telly, and I gave him a nod of recognition. He left the door open slightly, and I was free to fall into the world this book was pulling me into.

I wasn't sure how long I'd been reading, but there was a niggling sound that kept tugging at my attention. The more I tried to ignore it, the louder it became.  _It's sink or swim, my friend,_  I heard and I almost instantly knew who it was. I'd only heard the voice for the first time that morning, but Gary's harsh tones could cut through a room like a blade of ice. "and if you're good at swimming, you've got to let the losers drown." ' _He doesn't pull his punches, does he?_ ' I quietly stood, bookmarking the page I was on and moved closer the door.

"Why don't you guys leave the thinking up to me?"

"What?" I was certain that was Jimmy, and getting closer to the door, I peered out and saw I was right.

"What? What, what, dur." He said, mocking Jimmy. "Can't you say anything else?" He chuckled before moving toward Pete. "You know what, Petey, you were right – Jimmy is pretty dumb."

"What'd you say about me?" I felt sorry for Pete as he stood and backed away from Jimmy who advanced threateningly.

"Whoa, nothing, no, no, no! All I said was that you had to be pretty dumb to get expelled from so many schools, that's all." Oh, Pete. The boy really needed to think before he spoke.

"Relax, James," Gary stood from the sofa, his voice almost making me shiver. "all he said was that you must be dumb, or maybe you're all messed up because you came from a broken home."

Jimmy saw red and almost charged at Pete. "What'd you say about me, dwarf?" Gary stepped in the way, saving Pete from a beating.

"Come on, dude. Chill." Gary said, trying to simmer down the tempest that was Jimmy.

"No, no, no, no… Gary's taking everything out of context, man." Pete stammered, but the way Gary's head slowly turned to look at Pete made me think that this was also the wrong thing to have said.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Don't lie, Petey. Don't you lie." He threatened, pointing his finger to Pete as he stepped closer to the boy. "Because you know what happens to liars?"

"No, no, I'm not lying."

"We kick them in the balls!" Gary swung his leg up, and I saw Pete go down on the floor as the elder boy's foot made contact with his genitals. Gary laughed as Pete lay groaning, and I had an urge to go and give him a taste of his own medicine, but I remained behind the door, not wanting to aggravate Gary and draw his attention to me. It felt cowardly, but it wouldn't help anyone if he attacked me too.

"Come on, Jimmy," he started, turning to leave. "let's go see how good you are with this new slingshot I heard you had." Jimmy looked surprised that he'd found out, but Gary just looked back to him. "Don't worry, friend, nothing escapes my notice. I hear everything." That almost felt like a warning to me as I shrank further into the room to ensure Gary couldn't see me through the crack in the door. "You and me, we can do things." He said before I heard the door open and then close.

It seemed Gary's senses weren't as sharp as he thought, as he actually hadn't noticed me. Unless that's what he wanted me to think. But I quickly made my way over to Pete and found him curled up on the couch. I put a hand on his shoulder and he visibly flinched. "It's just me, Pete." I said quietly, rubbing his arm. "I saw what happened, are you alright?" Pete shook his head, and I noticed a couple of tears rolling down his face.

I got a can of cola from the vending machine and sat down next to Pete, passing it to him. "I'm not thirsty." He said, slowly sitting up and wiping his eyes with the cuffs of his sleeves.

"It's not to drink, it's for your balls." I said, grinning. "Put it between your legs, it'll act like an ice pack. If it works on bumped heads and grazed knees, why not bruised bollocks?" Pete took the can and placed it between his legs, shivering as it made contact.

"Thanks, Danny." He mumbled, taking deep breaths in through his nose and out through his mouth.

"I can't believe Gary treats you like that. It's disgusting."

"It's Bullworth. He's the big guy, and I'm the little guy, and because he's bigger, he gets to pick on me." He said sadly.

"Haven't you tried telling a teacher?" I asked, lifting a hand to rub his back with.

"They never do anything." I could feel anger bubbling inside me. The teachers here seemed to be as slack as they were in my old schools. It was enough to make you sick. But instead of flying into a rage about how the faculty should be looking after their students, I decided to just quietly sit with Pete and watch the TV as he tried to dull the ache in his testicles.

"What book were you reading?" He asked me after a while. I assumed his groin was feeling better, as he picked up the can and popped it open, taking a sip.

" _Jurassic Park_. You seen the movie?"

"Yeah. How's the book?"

"I'm not very far through it yet, but it's not bad. The part I'm on doesn't happen in the movie, but that happens with book-to-film adaptations." I shrugged, and Pete nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, I mean, look at  _Harry Potter_." He said, and we both laughed.

"You've read Harry Potter?" I asked, turning in my seat to face him.

"Read it? A boy finds out he's a wizard, and gets to go to a school of witchcraft where he makes good friends and has adventures? Man, I wish I was him." He let out a sigh, and I had to admit, I saw the appeal. Hogwarts was certainly several steps up from Bullworth.

Just as I was about to question Pete on what he thought about the  _Harry Potter_  series, the door slammed open and who should walk in but Gary. He sauntered over and leant on the couch, looking down at Pete and I. "I've not walked in on the precious moment where you two kiss for the first time, have I?"

"You wish." I said, leaning back as I looked up to him.

"What did you say?" he repeated, glaring at me as he crossed his arms.

"I said you wish. Or maybe you don't." I got to my feet, and stood my ground. "Maybe it would make you jealous to see me kissing Pete. Though who you'd be jealous of, I'm not sure." Gary's hands clenched into fists, and I thought he was about to punch me, but Pete shot up and grabbed Gary's wrist.

"Stop it, Gary." He said, eyes imploring the older boy not to hit me.

"Well, if I can't hit your boyfriend…" he sighed before turning quickly and bringing the palm of his hand hard against Pete's cheek. The clap rang out and I could almost feel the sting as Pete's cheek reddened.

"He isn't my boyfriend, and you're just a…a…" Pete trailed off, not meeting Gary's eyes.

"Oh, this is great. Go on, Petey, go cry to the teacher." He pushed Pete back by the shoulder. "Tell them I was nasty to you."

"Shut up, Gary. You're such a jerk, man."

"Oooh, am I, Petey…" he said, recoiling as if he'd been run through with a sword. "oh, you're  _so_  cutting. I'm really upset. Actually, I think I'm gonna go cry." His sarcastic voice made me wish it was me on the receiving end of this, and not Pete. I antagonised him after all. "Then I'd be just like you. Cry, little girl…"

The sound of footsteps made us all look towards the door, to see Jimmy walking towards us. "Oh, look out, here comes Jimmy." He said, holding his hands up as if Jimmy were a cop.

"Just knock it off, Gary. You're out of line." I wondered if he'd seen Pete get slapped. I knew I owed the boy an apology later.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realise I was hanging out in the girls' dorm. Silly me." He spat, and I rolled my eyes at his quite frankly cheap attempt at an insult.

"Shut up, man. You're boring." Jimmy said, his comeback not being much better.

"Boring? I'm boring? You're none too interesting yourself, friend." He said, moving close to Jimmy and narrowing his eyes at the boy. He paused, took a moment and backed off, letting out a tense breath. "Look, I'm sorry. Both of you." His eyes landed on me, and he gave a smile that I was certain wasn't sincere, despite its looks. "You too, Danny. I apologise, okay? I just get a little over-excited. Forgive me."

"Forget it. It's cool." Jimmy said, although I was still on the fence about the coolness. But far be it from me to deny people another chance at being a decent human.

"Anyway, I've got a good idea for some fun." Jimmy, Pete and I stepped closer, ready to hear this idea. Fun, even by Gary's definition, seemed like it might not be terrible right now. "Let's go out and torment someone really helpless and unfortunate," I was wrong. "that homeless guy." New lows had just been hit. Who considered tormenting homeless people fun? I certainly didn't, but at the same time, I wasn't sure I wanted to leave Pete with Gary just yet. "Come on."

Gary and Jimmy made for the door, but Pete turned away, and I stayed with him, mentally cheering him on for defying Gary. "You coming, little boys? Come on, I'm sorry. I'll give you both a kiss if that's what you want? One up here," he pointed to his lips. "and one down there." He pointed to his crotch.

"Shut up." Pete groaned, and I was agreeing with the sentiment, rolling my eyes at the psycho.

"Then come on." He said firmly before turning with Jimmy to leave. Pete was still for a moment before following, and I was close behind. "This is gonna be fun." Gary said as we stepped into the evening air and made our way to where the homeless guy lived – behind the broken down bus in the parking lot.

"Harassing some old homeless guy is fun?" Pete said, giving Gary a sceptical look.

"It is. And you should be grateful that you're not the victim for once." Gary sneered.

"I guess." Pete mumbled, looking down at his shoes.

"Hey, Jimmy," Gary called out to the boy leading our group. "tell me about this guy. Does he like to go in his own pants?"

"How would he know?" I asked, hands deep in my pockets to protect them from the cold.

"They're probably related." Gary shrugged. Jimmy either ignored the comment, or didn't hear it, because he kept walking. We soon got to the bus, and Jimmy pushed the door open, but as luck would have it, some bullies across the parking lot had seen us, and were running our way. I pushed Pete through the door, and then went through. I looked back to see Gary casually strolling towards the door.

"Hurry!" I called, not particularly wanting him to get beaten by the bullies, despite his shitty attitude. He got through the door and closed it before the bullies could get inside. The pounded on the door and shouted all manner of things, but Gary simply turned his back on them. He then grabbed the waist of his trousers and pulled the backside down just far enough for his butt to come out, and then waved it in front of the bullies like a red rag to a bull. He even gave a cheek a slap, just for good measure.

I raised an eyebrow at the display, wondering what the hell had possessed him, but he just grinned up at me. "Bet you wish you were out there to see it, eh, fag?"I rolled my eyes and flipped him the middle finger before getting off the bus through the other exit. "Maybe I'll show you later on." I politely told him to piss off before walking to Pete and looking around the empty area littered with, well… litter.

Gary had joined us, rear no longer on show, and looked very disappointed to see not a single homeless guy in sight. "Where is this dirty old perv?"

"You know, you're not very nice, Gary." Pete said, turning to face the boy.

"And you're a loser, Petey… one of life's unfortunates." He said, giving Pete a look as if he'd stepped in something awful.

Out of nowhere, a man in a beanie hat, grey vest and tattered black trousers stumbled out of the rubbish and towards Gary. The man looked like he was struggling to stand, and he reeked of alcohol and a severe lack of hygiene. "Get out of here, you little scum!" He yelled, almost falling over as he walked.

Gary laughed dismissively. "So I guess the rumours are true, Jimmy. Your dad does live on campus."

"You jerk!" Jimmy spat, while the old man threw a brick at Gary, it clunking against his elbow. He made a noise of pain, and it almost made me happy to see Gary get hurt.

"Let's leave this guy to his welfare payments! Come on! Let's get out of here!" Gary turned heel and ran away, Pete quick on his feet. I looked to Jimmy and gave him a shrug.

"I'm going to make sure Gary doesn't kill Pete." I gave him a small wave before leaving him with the old man. I stepped off of the bus, relieved to see the bullies had gone, but Pete and Gary weren't around either. But then from around the side of the bus, I heard what I thought was wood, creaking. And another noise. No, it couldn't be. Was that… was that a  _moan_? I slowly walked around to the back of the bus, and my jaw almost hit the floor in surprise.

I saw Pete pressed tightly against the fence, with Gary's body firm against his own. Gary's hands were at Pete's wrists, holding them against the fence so the boy was helpless. Gary was roughly kissing Pete, their mouths moving together as Gary kept Pete under his control. Gary pulled his mouth away and latched it onto Pete's neck, sucking and biting at the boy's flesh.

Pete's eyes were closed, but I wasn't sure if it was because he was enjoying himself, or because he didn't want to watch. Pete's mouth fell open, his breath coming in short and ragged. " _Gary_.." he moaned again. That confirmed what I had heard moments before. Pete's eyes opened further, and almost popped out of their sockets as he saw me watching. "Gary!" he exclaimed, causing the older boy to stop and glare at him.

"What, Petey, I'm not even half hard yet." He muttered before moving to bite his neck again. Pete shook his head and looked in my direction.

"Daniel." He uttered.

"What about that homo?" Gary demanded, it seeming as if my name was really pissing him off. He finally noticed Pete was looking past him, and turned to see me stood there, dumbstruck.

If looks could kill, I'd have died on the spot. I could feel Gary's fury burning into me, his nostrils flaring and lips pulling back over his teeth. He charged over to me, and gripped my shoulders so tight that I almost yelled, but the look on Gary's face had scared me into silence. He slammed me against the back of the bus, and I closed my eyes tightly, waiting for the impending punch to come. But it didn't. All I felt was hot breath on my face.

I opened an eye to see Pete holding back Gary's free hand, stopping him from decking me. I looked up at Gary, fear painting my face as I waited, the moment seeming to last a lifetime. "What did you see?" Gary said under his breath, his eyes boring into mine.

"Nothing. I didn't see anything." I said quietly, telling Gary exactly what he wanted to hear. He was silent for a while, and Pete let go of his arm.

"Good." Anger flared up on his face again, and I saw his arm move. I shut my eyes, bracing myself for the impact of his fist, but instead, it landed next to my head, denting the metal of the bus. "Let's go, Petey." He growled, before letting go of me and storming away. Pete gave me an apologetic look before he followed, and I couldn't stop my knees giving out as I sank to the floor.  _That_  had been scarier than anything that had happened at the other schools. Gary really was crazy. And if he wasn't crazy, he was evidently in denial. But I wasn't going to be the one to bring that up.

I took a while to collect myself before heading towards the dorm. I didn't know what time it was, but it was dark, and I didn't want to get caught out of the dorm past curfew. I knew that was a rule imposed seriously by the prefects.

I was quickly inside and in the room I shared with Pete. It was empty, and I was sure Pete was with Gary, but where they were, I didn't care. I quickly stripped down to my boxers and climbed into my bed, the cool fabric surrounding me and putting me somewhat at ease.

I think I'd been laying there for half an hour before I heard the door creak open, and feet pad across to Pete's bed. I heard noises that sounded like clothes coming off, so I assumed it was Pete getting into bed. I thought I would hear the creak of bedsprings as Pete lay down, but instead, more footsteps. My eyes were shut, but I could tell that Pete was stood nearby.

"Danny?" he said in his timid voice. It was like he was trying with every word he said not to upset anyone when he sounded like that. I didn't answer and feigned sleep. "I'm sorry for Gary, he's just… it's complicated. Sorry." I heard him step away and get into his own bed.

_Complicated_? I wasn't sure I wanted to know how complicated things could be here, but if this was how my first day was going to go, I was pretty sure that I would find out, whether I liked it or not.


	6. Chapter 6

Given how my first day at Bullworth went, the rest of the week wasn’t so bad. Nor were the next three. From the start of September to the end, I had managed to keep myself in almost everyone’s good books. Well, everyone who mattered, at least. Okay, so just a few people other than Pete. But still, I was happy with that for now.

I’d even started to make new friends. In the past couple of weeks I’ve been getting to know Christy, Ivan and Pedro, even helping the latter with Maths every other day after school. Of course, Jimmy and Pete are great guys too, and they’ve been looking out for me while I’m still settling in. – Jimmy when someone takes a sudden, violent dislike to me, and Pete when I’ve got problems with my classes. He’s smarter than he gives himself credit for.

Despite that, he’s been very quiet about what I saw on that evening of my first day. He was acting as if Gary kissing him hadn’t even happened. He didn’t bring it up once. I tried to initiate a conversation about it, but Pete said he had to go and work on something in the Library. Does he think I’ll judge him or something? I mean, sure, he could have better taste, but _I_ can’t really be against Pete kissing guys, can I? Whenever Gary sees me around the school, he just glares at me, so I’m too scared to bring it up with him. Hopefully I can get Pete to talk at some point.

Going back to classes, I’ve been doing quite well with those too. In that respect, it’s just like any other school. The teachers seem to know what they’re doing, and I try my best in each of their classes. I’d had my first Biology, Music, Chemistry & English lessons at the school, and while I didn’t always have Pete around to help me, I seemed to coincidentally share all of my classes with Jimmy. So chatting with him when things got tough certainly helped to pass the time.

In fact, the only things that made me notice the time passing were the emails from my parents. They were regularly messaging me, asking how I was, what I thought of the school, about making friends and doing well in my classes. I had to mention to my dad that thanks to my picking up his British accent, it had gained me a fair bit of unwanted attention. Nothing too bad and nothing that I couldn’t handle, but dad still felt kind of guilty. I wouldn’t change my accent for anything and he knew that.

It felt like October rolled around pretty quickly, and there was a definite late autumn chill in the air. I’d started to keep my sleeves down now, and occasionally wore gloves, as cold hands were not helpful when it came to some of my classes, especially Art. I couldn’t draw for love nor money when my hands were frozen.

I was grateful that the library was kept heated as it got colder. That was where I would help Pedro with his Maths, and it must’ve been working, as the boy’s grades were very gradually picking up, but he still had a way to go before he’d be up to where he should be. I had suspicions that he had dyscalculia, a learning difficulty, and found him a book to read on it. I’d ended up googling a couple techniques that I used with him to help him learn, and thankfully, they were working.

After our session that day, I left him in the library, as he wanted to find another book that I had recommended, not to help him learn but to read for fun. He seemed like the type of kid who would like the _Harry Potter_ books. I waved to him as he began to rifle through the shelves for the book, and quickly made my way out towards the boy’s dorm.

Damn, it was cold. My breath hung in the air in front of me for a moment before I walked through it, hastily moving across the grounds. I crossed my arms tightly over my chest as I walked, determined not to let the little warmth within me get snuffed out by the cold. Passing the front of the school, I passed by a pair of bullies – a blonde one and a smaller, brown haired guy, who Pete pointed out as Trent and Davis - heading in the direction of the auto shop. I was sure I heard one of them mention ‘ganging up on one of the nerds’, but I couldn’t have been certain.

I was soon inside the boys’ dorm but it was barely any warmer inside. I saw Pete sat in on the sofa watching the telly, so I quickly grabbed the latest book I was reading (the next in the _Maximum Ride_ series) from our room, and a couple cans of cola from the vending machine before joining him. I gave him a can and he looked appreciative. “What’re you watching?” I asked, crossing my legs on the sofa and opening the book to the page I was on.

“Oh, just a swimming competition.” Pete answered, popping open his can and taking a sip. “It’s the only channel that’s working.” I heard him say as I watched as a hairless and well-toned male swimmer powering through the water in nothing but a swim cap and Speedos that left nothing to the imagination.

“I wouldn’t kick him out of bed.” I grinned, looking over to Pete, who was biting his bottom lip as if there was something he didn’t want to say aloud. I put it out of my mind and let him carry on watching, opening my can and taking regular sips as I moved through my book.

I was snapped out of the world of flying bird-kids and wolf-monsters as a door slammed.  “No, no, no! That’ll never work!” Gary’s voice reverberated through the dorm. He entered the lounge and stormed over to the vending machine, giving it a firm kick. A moment later, it rattled and deposited a can of cola for him. He quickly scooped it up and drained it in less than a minute, throwing a wave in our direction. I’d looked up from the book when he came in and it surprised me to see that he was acting not at all like his usual psychotic self.

I waved back before returning to the book. The next thing I knew, Gary had come over to stand with Pete, and had picked the remote right out of his hand. “Isn’t anything else on?” He drawled, flicking through the channels. Pete quickly snatched the remote back, his speed surprising Gary, and turned the TV back to the swimming. “Excuse you, Petey.” Gary chided, turning on his heel to leave. He paused halfway to the door, before grinning mischievously and creeping back up behind Pete.

“Sorry, Petey, I didn’t mean to.” Gary pouted, trying to look as innocent as he could.

“Sure you are.” Pete muttered as he turned his attention back to the TV.

Gary looked at me, still pouting as if he were a child caught with his hands in the cookie jar. “Tell him, Danny, I didn’t mean it.”

“Leave me out of this one.” I said, waving my hand and keeping my eyes on my book.

Gary gave an irritated sigh before leaning forwards against the back of the sofa. A moment later he was poking Pete’s shoulders. “Sorry… sorry about that Petey…” he said with a grin on his face as he prodded.

“Cut it out. Stop Gary, I’m trying to watch this.” Pete was starting to sound annoyed, as anyone else would be with someone incessantly poking them while they tried to watch TV.

“Ahhh! Swim team! Intellectual stuff…” Gary said, moving around the sofa to stand between Pete and the TV. “So tell me, Petey, do you like watching the girls in their swimming costumes?” Pete was trying to look past Gary, but the boy wasn’t moving. “Does that fuel your filthy little fantasies-”

“Gary - just get out of the way.” Pete whined, fidgeting as he sat.

“Oh, Marion, show me your breast stroke again!” Gary imitated, leaning forward, closer to Pete. “Or wait… do you like the boys on the team?” He grinned, casting a glance over to me. “I’m sure Dan can give you a couple pointers on who’s the best at their stroke.”

“Yeah, right, Gary.” Pete answered, trying to ignore the question.

“Which is it, Petey?” Gary demanded, getting really into Pete’s face.

I set my book aside and rolled my eyes at Gary. “Just leave him alone.” Gary turned to glare at me just as Jimmy walked in from who knows where. He’d probably just returned from a detention.

“I see you guys are getting along as usual.” Sarcasm laced his voice, and Gary turned his attention to Jimmy, giving Pete a firm smack on the arm which made him whine.

“I’m just toughening him up.” Gary defended, walking around towards Jimmy. “Turning him into a man. Or a woman. Or something…”

“Hey Jimmy, hey Petey.” I looked over to the door for the voice, and saw Algernon walk in. I had seen him around the school and library a lot, but remembered him as the boy who had bumped into me on the stairs on my first day.

“Ahhh, Pee Stain! Good to see you.” Gary exclaimed, Algie ignoring the insult.

“Listen, Jimmy, I need a favour. Bucky went to the auto shop to get some parts for his science projects. He hasn’t come back yet.” Algie explained quickly, and sounded worried for his friend. I suddenly remembered what I had heard the two outside said about ganging up on a nerd. “I think he might be in trouble… please.”

I knelt up on the sofa, looking towards Jimmy, Algie and Gary. “Earlier I heard Trent & Davis talking about ‘ganging up on a nerd’. Could be Bucky.” I suggested. Jimmy thought it over, deciding it made sense, but looked back to Algie.

“Why don’t you go yourself?” He asked the large boy, who began to shift uncomfortably.

“I’ve got homework…” He said with an awkward laugh. “Okay, I’m frightened, and I’ve got a weak bladder.” He burst, looking almost like he were about to cry. “I think those bullies Dan said have gotten him. Please, I’ll pay…” He was practically begging now, thinking that his friend’s life was in danger.

A grin appeared on Gary’s face and he set a hand on Jimmy’s shoulder. “I say do it – it’s a good chance to show Russell who’s in charge around here.” He reasoned. He quickly turned on Algie and gave his shoulder a sharp push. “Now run along Pee Stain, before you mark the carpet.” He made sure Algie had left and slowly walked back towards Jimmy.

“Yes, we’ve got to take care of Russell and his boys then after that, take care of all the other cliques.” I watched Gary and could see the cogs in his head turning at four times normal speed, his plans coming together. But what the end result would be I didn’t know. “Soon this school will be ours.”

“I don’t want the school.” Jimmy said simply, which Gary did not like.

“Yeah, well I do, pal, and I intend to get it.” He snapped, Jimmy not even flinching. “Now go help that dork.”

“And what are you going to do?” Jimmy asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I’ve got planning to do.” He said simply, walking back towards Pete.

Jimmy sighed, and looked over at me. “You saw a couple of the guys who went over there, right?” I nodded, and he turned to leave. “You’re coming with me.” I didn’t want to argue so I quickly got to my feet, chucked the book in on my bed and followed Jimmy outside.

As the door shut behind me, Jimmy was already barrelling across the ground. I took off running and I soon caught up with him. “What’re we going to do when we find them?” I asked, assuming that Jimmy had a plan.

“If Bucky’s on his own, we get him out of there. If he isn’t, we get to crack some skulls.” Jimmy smiled, relishing the thought of getting to give a couple of Russell’s goons a pounding. I wasn’t so happy that I might have to fight, as I’d never really been in a fight before. The wrestling lessons during Gym gave me a couple moves, but other than that, all I could do was swing my fist or foot and hope for the best.

We went through the auto shop via the parking lot, and before we were even through the gate, we could hear voices, and some were definitely more violent than others. We looked in, and Davis and Wade were giving Bucky some grief. “Hey!” Jimmy called, grabbing their attention. “Leave the runt alone.”

Davis stepped forward, brandishing a wooden baseball bat. “Who’s going to make us?”

“We are.” Jimmy ran towards Davis and tackled him down to the ground, making him drop the baseball bat. “Get it!” Jimmy yelled as he landed several blows to Davis’ head.

I quickly made for the bat, but Wade came out of nowhere and bowled me over. I tumbled onto my stomach, and rolled over just in time to avoid Wade’s foot stamping on my back. I scrambled towards the bat and picked it up, holding it out offensively at Wade. “Don’t make me use it.” I threatened, with a clear wobble in my voice.

“Like you got the guts.” He said, his voice rough and loud. His joyful look at having me to beat into a pulp disappeared as he was tapped on the shoulder. He turned to see Jimmy’s fist connect hard with his nose, and while he was stunned, I came up behind him and swung the bat into his right side, and then his left. He groaned and fell to the floor, holding himself, and Davis was still laid out unconscious with Bucky kicking weakly at his side.

“Nice one.” Jimmy smiled at me, and I had to admit, it had felt good to smack Wade around, but I decided I wouldn’t make a habit of it. Bucky abandoned his attack and came over to us.

“I’ve still got to find a couple tools.” He said nasally and out of breath.

“C’mon then.” Jimmy sighed, as we headed for the break in the wall that would let us get to the garage. No sooner had we gone through than another two, Troy & Trent, were on us, Trent armed with a second bat. Mine had cracked when I hit Wade, and it wouldn’t last long, so I tossed it to Jimmy who ran for Trent, smacking the boy with the bat, which broke as it made contact. As Trent was distracted, he quickly took Trent’s before advancing on Troy.

With Jimmy occupying Troy, I was left with Trent. The tall blonde boy wasn’t so intimidating when he was recovering from being hit, but he was soon back on form, and glaring at me. The look must’ve scared Bucky, because he ran and hid by a dumpster. “You’re going down, pipsqueak.” Trent growled, picking up a dustbin lid by his feet.

My eyes widened as he took aim and launched the lid at me like a Frisbee. I quickly moved out of the way, but in the wrong direction as I bumped against the wall, which surprised me. Unarmed, Trent grabbed a nearby brick and hurled it at me. If I had moved a second earlier, it would’ve missed me completely, but it only just caught my face, and I felt the corner of the brick scratch my left cheek as it flew. The slice in my cheek was fine for a moment, but it soon reddened, and I could feel a warm, stickiness trickling down my face.

‘ _That isn’t good._ ’

I ran for Trent, who had been distracted by Bucky, as he’d come out of hiding when I was hit to try and help me. Bucky was feebly punching him, so I came up to his side and aimed a kick to the back of his knees. Trent fell forward onto his knees, and I quickly changed feet so I could throw another kick into his stomach. He doubled over and lay groaning. “He won’t be getting up soon.” Bucky said victoriously. Jimmy had finished with Troy, and tossed the second broken bat aside before quickly opening the garage door for Bucky. The boy was in and out rather fast as he collected what he needed.

We made our way for the exit, but it seemed Jimmy hadn’t done as good a job as he thought on Troy, as he was back on his feet, and with another bully, Ethan at his side. Ethan had gotten hold of a wooden bat too, and Jimmy charged forward, kissing the boy with his forehead at high speed and stealing the weapon. I quickly grabbed Bucky and made our way for the gate while Jimmy took on both Ethan and Troy. We found the gate shut, and I tried to open it, but I wasn’t strong enough, even with Bucky’s help.

Jimmy meanwhile was dealing with the two bullies. Troy was soon down for good after a couple whacks from the bat, and he was instantly dealing with Ethan. In a final endeavour, I put my foot against the gate and almost threw out my back trying to get it open. However, the effort only caused the flow of blood from my cheek to increase twofold. Letting out a sigh, I turned to Jimmy to find him with Ethan on his knees in front of him and spat in his eye, making him finally keel over.

The adrenaline from being involved in an actual fight must’ve kept it at bay, as now my cheek was engulfed in a burning sensation. As Jimmy tried the gate, I put my fingers to the cut, making it sting. I could feel the blood on my face, but I didn’t want to freak out about it, so I tried to remain calm.

Jimmy was struggling with the gate, but suddenly there was a banging from the other side, along with a yell of ‘Dammit, kids, keep it down!’ in a gritty voice. The gate then flew open to reveal the hobo who lived behind the bus. He glared at the three of us before spitting on the ground, and walking back towards the bus.

Bucky let out a sigh of relief and turned Jimmy and I. “Thanks for saving me, you guys.” He walked over to where a skateboard was propped against a walk, picked it up and handed it to Jimmy. “Here, have this.” Jimmy looked glad about his new acquisition as he looked at it in his hands. Bucky looked to me with a sympathetic smile. “I don’t have another now, but I can get you one if you want?” I waved my hands, smiling.

“No, no, it’s okay, you don’t need to give me anything.” I said, not particularly fussed about being given something in return for helping. He thanked us both again before heading off. Jimmy and I began to make our way back to the boy’s dorm, and not a moment too soon, as I was starting to feel woozy and the left side of my face was feeling numb.

“Whoa, there.” I heard Jimmy say, as he pulled me upright. I hadn’t even notice that I’d begun to fall. He pulled my arm over his shoulders and put his own around my waist. “Nurse McRae is about as much use as a marzipan dildo. There’ll be a first aid kit in the dorm, now c’mon.” His voice had lost the roughness, the bite to it, and had taken on a much kinder tone. I’m sure I would’ve nodded in response, but I was currently in no position to argue, so I let him keep guiding me back to the dorm.

I was soon sat down on my bed, back against the wall to keep me upright. Alone in the room, I took a moment to look down at myself, and saw that my shirt and vest were going to need several washes if I were going to get all the blood out. The door opened, and I felt something move nearby, so I slowly lifted my head up to see Jimmy sat close by, searching through a green box that I assumed was the first aid kit.

After a minute of scattering antihistamines, epi-pens and anti-septic wipes, Jimmy was able to find a suitable dressing. In a practiced motion, he swiftly peeled the backing from the plaster and applied it to my cheek. “Be more careful next time.” He said, almost softly. His thumb lingered on my cheek as he smoothed the plaster against my skin. “It’s your best asset.” He gave my cheek a light slap before picking a bottle out of the kit. It rattled as he shook it, and he poured a pair of white tablets out of it into my hand. “Take these.” He put a can in my other hand, and I did as I was told, taking a swig from the can.

He took the drink away from me and set it on the bedside table. The plumbing rattled as I slumped heavily back against the headboard. I felt like falling asleep right there, but Jimmy wasn’t having any of it. “You can’t just lie there in blood-stained clothes.” He said, crossing his arms.

I shot him what I thought was a languorous look. “So take them off.” Jimmy sighed, and I imagined he would be rolling his eyes if I had mine open to see. I felt something moving again, as Jimmy’s hands were on me, pulling me to sit up once more. With me leant against him, Jimmy’s hands reached for the bottom of the vest, and pulled it up over my head.

He set the vest aside and began unbuttoning my shirt. “You’ve got spares, right?” he asked, and I mumbled a yes. I sucked in a sharp breath as the cool air hit my chest, Jimmy pushing my shirt down my arms and off completely. He gently, but firmly planted a hand on my chest and pushed me back to lie down. Our eyes met for a moment, and even in my dazed state, I could’ve sworn I saw a hint of a smirk playing on his lips. As I felt my back touch down, I reached for the covers and pulled them over me, not even noticing Jimmy leaving with my clothes.

The next morning, when I eventually awoke, I found standing close by my bed, looking down worriedly at me. The sigh of relief was the loudest I’d heard as he saw me move, and I very slowly pushed myself to sit up. “You’ve not moved since Jimmy let you sleep yesterday afternoon.” He said, sitting at the edge of my bed.

I rubbed at my eyes, feeling the accumulated crust that comes with sleeping crumble away. I also felt something foreign on my cheek, and applied the slightest pressure to it, causing my face to ache. I remembered the previous afternoon’s events, and decided I wouldn’t touch it again soon. “And when was that?” I groaned, pulling the covers tight around me to fight off the cold.

“Around half five, I think.” Pete guessed, and I turned to look at the clock on the bedside table. It’s digital display reading 08:22. I had been asleep for almost 15 hours. That was far too long, and I could feel it settled inside me as I stretched out my arms. I swung my legs out from the bed, not caring I was still in yesterday’s trousers, and slowly stood up. Pete gave me a wary look, as if I were about to fall over, but I groggily made my way over to the wardrobe to get dressed.

I may have put my vest on backwards, but that is beside the point. Pete told me and I changed it before I left for class anyway. The second I left, I was getting jokes about what had happened to my face, and I was just as eager to know. It was going to be a fun time while that healed and I could inspect the damage. But the thought left my head as the bell rang, and I quickly dashed off. Dr. Watts would not be happy if I were late.


	7. Chapter 7

Once again, I’m finding the time just seems to fly here at Bullworth. Maybe it’s because I’m trying to keep myself busy. As well as continuing to help Pedro with his Maths (Hattrick seems have noticed his improvements, and is giving him harder assignments), Ms. Philips says that I’ve got a real flair for art – even going as far to suggest that I were to consider making artistry a career - and Miss Peters had told me that I had a pretty good singing voice. I hadn’t even realised she’d heard me sing until she mentioned it to me.

One lesson, she had given us an assignment of researching how a singer or band we liked started, so I was reading the section of origin and formation on _The Killers_ Wikipedia page while listening to some of their songs on YouTube. _Somebody Told Me_ came on, and I couldn’t stop myself from singing along. But because I had earphones in, I hadn’t heard Miss Peters come into the room.

If I had, I’d have shut up instantly, but no, I kept singing, and she listened. When I saw her stood in the doorway, I could feel the blood rushing to her face, but she just looked at me. “Usually people can’t sing very well when they have earphones in, but you’re something different.” She smiled. “I’m impressed, Daniel.” She then told me that I was to choose a song to sing in front of the class, at which point, an impending sense of dread dropped down onto me.

But I’m sure I’ll be fine.

I _really_ hope I’m fine.

My cheek has pretty much completely healed. Aside from the scarring. Thanks to that brick Trent lobbed my way, I’ve now got a scar on my left cheek that stretches diagonally from just by my nostril to the bottom of my jaw. It still looks kind of rough at the moment, and it sticks out like a sore thumb. Since I took the plaster off, I can’t stop sliding my thumb along it. I suppose it’ll fade eventually, so it won’t be too bad then, but at the moment, it’s a bit of an eyesore.

I don’t know how, but my parents found out about the incident, and had been emailing me constantly, asking far too many questions. Well, they didn’t know exactly what had happened, but they knew I had been scarred. Apparently, Ms. Philips had taken it upon herself to contact my parents and tell them about the injury. As much as I appreciate her caring, I do wish she hadn’t told them. I just told them that I fell off of Jimmy’s skateboard. My mum almost had a fit, asking why I thought it would be a good idea when I’ve never ridden a skateboard before and that I could break my neck if I tried it again. I don’t like lying to them, but if they knew the truth, they’d worry too much.

But anyway, regardless of a few people offering to make my face more symmetrical by scarring the other cheek, I finished the day’s classes in high spirits. I actually came away from dodge-ball smiling, because tonight is my favourite holiday – Halloween. Despite that, I didn’t actually have a costume. This was disappointing, as during Art earlier, I’d heard practically everyone talking about what they’d be dressing as. I had a feeling I would just stay in and watch a horror movie on my laptop. Although Pete had told me not to count on it. What else I might be doing without a costume, I didn’t know.

As I sat cross-legged on my bed with my laptop, trying to find a good slasher flick, Pete came in from a bit of afternoon study in the library. “Hey.” I smiled up at him, and he gave me a little wave in response. He wandered over and sat next to me on the bed, looking at the computer screen.

“What’re you up to?” He asked, as I was browsing through links of popular horror films.

“Trying to find a movie to watch tonight.” I was pretty sure I was going to go with _A Nightmare on Elm Street._

Pete sighed and stood up, crossing his arms as he looked down at me. “I told you, Danny, I want you to come out with Jimmy, Gary and me tonight.” He said, putting his bottom lip out slightly. I put the laptop aside, sighing quietly.

“And I told you that I didn’t have a costume.”

“Yeah, you do.” Pete grinned, looking happy with himself. I, on the other hand, was confused.

“Well, I don’t see it.” I said folding my arms and Pete gave me a look of are-you-serious.

“Where does anything that you would wear go?” He hinted, and I guessed that he meant the wardrobe. I got up and walked over, pulling open the door to find a clear plastic bag on a hanger. I took it out, raising an eyebrow at Pete as I held it. “Turn it over.” He said, and doing so, I saw a card inside with a picture of a man dressed as Zorro, complete with a plastic sword. I looked up and the grin on Pete’s face was huge.

“Pete…” I was kind of in shock. Had Pete really gone to the effort of getting me a costume? “How did you, why did you?” I asked, setting the bag down on the bed.

“I ordered it online the other day, and I did it because you’ve been nothing but nice to me since you’ve been here. You made me feel like I really had a friend, and I wanted to say thank you.” Pete said, looking down at his feet. I couldn’t help but smile.

“Thanks, Pete.” I said quietly. I stepped over to the boy and wrapped my arms around him, giving him a tight hug, touched by the boy’s gift. I felt Pete’s arms eventually come up around me. It was as if Pete hadn’t been hugged before and he didn’t know how to react. I guess Gary never hugged him. But I did suspect that they didn’t have a _conventional_ relationship.

I moved my hands to Pete’s shoulders and took a step back, smiling happily at him. “Really, Pete, thanks. It means a lot that you’d do that for me.” Pete smiled back and rubbed the back of his neck.

“It was nothing. And now you can come out with us tonight. Plus, I think you’ll look good in it.” The comment caught me off guard, and I gave Pete a questioning look. A moment later, the boy blushed heavily, not realising what he’d said. “No, no, I meant, I think you’ll make a good Zorro!” He rushed, covering himself. I gave a fake pout, feigning sadness at the loss of the compliment. “Not that I think you won’t look good in it, you will, I just didn’t mean to say that!” He spoke fast, trying to make up for what he’d said. I chuckled at the display, and Pete sighed, turning away and sitting on his bed with his back to me. “I’ll just stop talking.”

“Thank you, Pete.” I smiled, and crept up behind him. I slowly moved across the bed on my knees and put my arms around Pete’s shoulders, leaning forward and placing a soft kiss on Pete’s cheek. As if he weren’t flustered enough. I grinned and quickly moved back to my bed, taking the costume out of its bag. It was a complete Zorro outfit – hat, mask, gloves, shirt and trousers, and a belt to hook the sword on, all in black. I had a pair of shoes that I could wear with it, so the costume would be great for tonight. But thinking that raised a question. “What are you going to wear tonight?” I asked, looking back over my shoulder at Pete.

It took a moment for the boy to realise I was looking at him, and he had a blank expression. “Sorry?”

“Where’s your costume?” I asked again, lifting the cape and giving a swish around my shoulders. I really did like this.

“Gary said he was going to sort something out for me.” He said, looking blank as he fell to lie back on his bed. I had a feeling that Pete would only realise how bad a decision that was when he saw the costume. “He’s getting Jimmy something too.” I thought for a moment. Maybe for one night, Gary wouldn’t be a prick. Maybe he’d get Pete and Jimmy nice costumes to wear. Although, they could be wearing animatronic Velociraptor costumes and I would still feel cooler in my Zorro kit. Because it really did look cool.

‘ _I’ve got to try it on._ ’ I pulled the sweater off over my head and began to unbutton my shirt, hastily throwing it aside. I went to undo the belt on my trousers, pausing for a second. Pete wouldn’t mind if I changed my underwear in front of him, would he? I doubted it, I had changed everything else in front of him since we’d become roommates, I’m sure he would just brush it off. But then again, this was Pete. I didn’t want to turn and check to see if he was looking, so I quickly dropped my trousers along with my boxer-briefs, which were today a dark purple, and grabbed an appropriately themed orange pair with a pumpkin carving face which had ‘Trick my treat’ on the waistband.

They were soon protecting my modesty, and I was pretty certain that Pete hadn’t been looking. I think I would’ve heard him squeak or something if he had. Just for peace of mind, I threw a glance to the nearby mirror which was in front of me, and reflected behind me to Pete’s bed. Pete must’ve seen as he looked rather red in the face, and was staring down at his lap. I then realised that if I could see Pete through the mirror, he could see me. And if he could’ve seen my front when I was boxer-less…

He didn’t, did he?

Like with my interrupting his kiss from Gary, I chose not to bring up the subject and quickly went about pulling on the costume, jumping into the trousers, and pulling the shirt on. I was able to do almost all the buttons myself. I hate those little buttons on the cuff that you can only do yourself with one hand. Pete must’ve noticed my struggling, as he appeared at my side and took my hand, turning it over so he could button the cuffs.

Finishing one wrist, I lifted the other, and he buttoned that one too. I watched his face as he worked; thinking that the way his tongue was just poking out of the corner of his mouth and his eyebrows were furrowed in concentration was pretty cute. Pete finished and looked up, meeting my eyes. I’d never gotten a chance to look at Pete this close before.

On the surface, his eyes were bright and happy as we shared our moment, yet he was still looking strained and tired, I’d even go as far as to say I saw pain. Pain that shouldn’t be endured by a lad his age. Pain which I assumed stemmed from Gary. His hair, short and brown, looked smooth and soft to the touch. His eyebrows weren’t pushed together; they sat apart, looking at ease. The corners of Pete’s mouth were lifted in a smile, and his lips were slightly parted so I could just see the bottoms of his top teeth.

Pete moved his hand from my cuff to my palm, fingers bending around and holding them together as they lowered to our side. My own fingers curled and held onto Pete, finding his skin soft. A further glance to the lips and I found the smile was gone. Instead, they were neutral, yet still parted. Even more so, they were getting closer. I found myself breathing in as I prepared for what was coming. Pete’s eyes were half-lidded as he neared my lips, sucking in his own breath as he –

_BANG!_

“Petey, I got your costume!” Gary’s voice leapt through the building, and quicker than turning off a lamp, Pete had jumped back, distancing himself from me before Gary could barge through the door. I felt rather detached as the door was booted open, and Gary walked in, carrying three bags and completely ignoring me. It was like I was watching, but not from my own body. Just as an entity that floated around. Either way, I realised I was almost dribbling and brought myself back to the moment.

I quickly looped the belt around me and holstered the sword on it, before lifting the mask to my face and tying it around my head, tucked my hair into the hat as I lowered it on, and then made a bow at the front of my collar with the laces of the cape. I was now a complete Zorro, besides the shoes and gloves, but those could wait for now.

I moved to stand in front of the mirror, and examined myself, thinking it wasn’t a bad fit. I was pretty sure that no-one except Pete, Gary and Jimmy would be able to tell it was me under the costume. I turned to face Pete, grinning like a Cheshire cat. “I love it.” Pete, jaw open at the contents of the bag in his lap, looked up and flashed me a smile.

“Good. You look-”

“-Like a skinny idiot, but at this short notice, it’ll have to do.” Gary sighed, dramatically putting his hands on his hips. Pete rolled his eyes, and reached into the bag, pulling out a bright pink, furry costume. I should’ve known – as if Gary would’ve gotten him something cool to wear. Pete was frowning, and Gary took a look out the window, noticing that it was already dark and the lamps outside were on. “Get that on, Petey, we’re leaving in 10.” Gary barked, picking up the remaining two bags. “Hurry him up if you can, Queer-o.” He smirked at me before leaving, and I just brushed the comment off. I felt too cool to let something like that bug me.

Pete stood, holding the costume out as it unfurled to full length. It was a one-piece suit costume of a giant pink bunny. As much as I’d like to have believed Gary thought it was Easter, he probably chose that outfit because it would get Pete more _undesirable_ attention. I walked towards him and lifted an arm of the costume, rubbing the soft fur before dropping it. “Wanna swap?” I offered, telling from the look on Pete’s face that he was not looking forward to wearing that monstrosity.

“No, no, it’s fine. I can wear this. Besides, your outfit’s too big for me.” Pete let out a light sigh, and laid the costume down on the bed as he started to remove his clothing. I turned to find my shoes, pulling them from the wardrobe and kneeling to put them on. As I knelt half fiddling, half tying my laces, there was a tiny voice in the back of my head, urging me to look at Pete. ‘ _He’ll be changing, I can’t._ ’ I thought ‘ ** _That’s exactly why you should._** ’ The voice answered. It didn’t take long for me to decide what to do.

I threw a glance over my shoulder to Pete, and saw him stood almost naked as he tucked his fingers into the waistband of his boxers and, bending over, pull them down his legs.  I felt the blush on my cheeks hit me like a smack to the chops, and quickly looked back to my feet, looking at my laces so hard they could do themselves up by will alone.

I can’t believe what I just saw. There was no way I could tell Pete, he would die of embarrassment. But oh, what a sight. Pete’s backside had an almost perfect curve to it, and the skin looked as soft as a cloud. The two mounds even had the lightest dusting of hair on them. They were parted slightly, enough for me to see what lay between. I felt a familiar stirring in my groin, and glanced down at my crotch. As surreptitiously as I could manage, I gently squeezed myself, feeling what lay inside swelling, already having reached half-mast. I could feel it pressing hard against the fabric of my underwear as it reached its full length. I swallowed dryly. ‘ _Shit._ ’

 ‘ _This place is turning me into a pervert!_ ’ My cheeks were burning, my trousers were almost painfully tented, and I had lost all control of my fingers, which now just loosely held the loops of my laces. ‘ ** _Or maybe you like Pete a little more than you thought you did._** ’ I let that thought linger for a moment. ‘ _I think you might just be right._ ’

I stayed there fiddling with my laces for I don’t know how long, but long enough for Pete to finish with his costume and for me to think enough horrid thoughts to kill my erection and possibly the next three. “What do you think?” I heard him ask from behind me. I ensured I was completely limp before turning as I stood, and saw Pete engulfed in pink fur, bunny ears half stood to attention. “I look like a dork, right?” he groaned, frowning deeply. I couldn’t help but smile as I stepped closer and smoothed down some fur on his arm.

“You look positively adorable.” I grinned, giving one of the ears a gentle flick. “Although, you’ll probably be finding pink fur in places you didn’t know existed for the next month. But all the same, you look cute.” The answer made Pete smile, and he almost looked comfortable wearing the onesie now. He’d probably end up sweating buckets later though.

“You two ready yet?” Gary’s voice called from the doorway. I turned and saw him dressed as a Nazi SS officer.  Despite knowing him for around 2 months, this still surprised me. Gary really had no boundaries – everything was fair game to him.

“Yeah, we’re ready.” Pete answered crossing over to the door and leaving the room. I saw Gary’s eyes follow Pete as he left, before stepping away from the doorway and heading across the hall. I left and saw Gary go into Jimmy’s room and flop down on his bed while Pete quickly went down to the end of the hall and into the bathroom. Jimmy then entered the dorm, and headed straight for his room, nodding his head to me in greeting as he passed. He paused as he found Gary lying on his bed.

“Get into your costume, Jimmy.” The Nazi demanded, and Jimmy, rolling his eyes, did as he was told, padding over to the wardrobe. I leant against the doorframe and tried not to let my eyes wander to Jimmy’s body as he changed. I failed. I was unable to not watch as Jimmy pulled his vest and shirt off, shoulder muscles rippling as his arms removed the clothes. I finally tore my eyes away, wondering what was turning me into a peeping tom today.

Gary caught my eye as he gave me the dirtiest look ever. His mouth moved silently, and I’m not a great lip-reader, but it looked a hell of a lot like he had mouthed “ _You horny little faggot._ ”

Jimmy was quickly changed into a skeleton costume, provided by Gary. ‘ _Pete gets a pink bunny suit, and Jimmy gets to be a skeleton? **Somebody’s** trying to get on Jimmy’s good side._ ’ Jimmy turned and stepped over to the bed. “Hey, what’s going on?” It was almost like he didn’t know it was Halloween.

Gary sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed, his boots clunking on the wooden floor as he faced Jimmy. “Not much – I was just lying here, wishing I could be more like you.”

“Whatever.” I wondered how long it would be before Jimmy was as sick of Gary’s attitude as I was.

“But I’m cursed.” Gary said, a fake tone of sadness in his voice.

“Yeah, really.” Jimmy said, as if he were deciding to play along with Gary’s little game.

“Yeah – cursed by brains.” He said, getting to his feet. ‘ _Or not._ ’ I thought, smiling slightly. “Do you know what torture it is to be thinking ALL the time?” He paused for a moment, meeting Jimmy’s eyes. “No, of course you **_don’t_**.” The malice in his voice was so present, it could’ve been a person in the room.

“Yeah, you’re cursed, you’re great… whatever. What else is going on?” Jimmy sighed. He seemed kinda out of it tonight. Maybe he’d had a rough day.

“Didn’t you realise it’s Halloween?” I asked, gesturing to the costumes we were all wearing.

He looked down at himself before back to me. “I wondered what I was doing in this.” He said sarcastically, a smirk playing on his lips.

“All the prefects are at some party and the teachers are ‘entertaining’ – I use that word loosely – the kids. No, I’d say the opportunities for fun are pretty much nil.” Gary explained sarcastically.

“What do you have in mind?” Jimmy questioned, causing Gary to smile.

 “Come on, boys. You’ll see…” Spinning in his Jackboots and clicking his heels together once primly, Gary exited the room with an exaggerated goosestep, Jimmy obediently following after. ‘ _Why do I feel like this was how the Hitler Youth began?_ ’ I distanced the thought and followed after Jimmy.

 “Let’s go get Pete. I got him a real nice costume.” He grinned mischievously. Jimmy glanced over at me, and I gave him a look that said “Nice is not the word I’d use.” Although, I had to admit, Pete looked cute as a button in it. But it was going to get him beaten to hell and back by some of the bullies in school.

Speaking of which, we stepped out into the corridor to find Troy and Wade had stuffed Pete into a rubbish bin. As Jimmy and Gary made for the door, I quickly helped Pete out of the bin and hurried after the two, as Troy and Wade both looked mad that their quarry had gotten away.

“Guys, I look like a jerk.” Pete moaned as we stepped into the cool night air. He did look quite sad that he was stuck in the bunny suit.

“No, you look fine. Don’t be a baby.” Gary called back to him. Jimmy walked slightly ahead with Gary, while I hung back with Pete. We had barely gotten under the archway of the path leading away from the dorm when a small boy all wrapped up in toilet paper walks up to me and Pete.

“Can you help me, sir?” he asked me, and I immediately recognised the voice.

“Sure, Pedro, what is it?” I asked, giving him a smile. He looked surprised that I recognised him, but then happy to realise it was the guy who’d been helping him get better at maths.

“Could you put this “Kick Me” sign on somebody, please?” He asked, handing me the sign.

“Pete and I can handle that, right?” I asked, looking to Pete for reassurance. The bunny nodded, and Pedro was happy with the answer. Nearby, a couple of jocks wearing Pumpkin masks were stood talking, and as our party of four passed them, I lightly attached the sign to the back of one in the varsity jacket. I didn’t see what happened, but if the sounds of kicks impacting on flesh and a scream of “Why?!” were anything to go by, then it had gone down pretty well. I almost felt sorry for him. _Almost_.

Pete and I had also been given a Volcano 4000 firework by one of the nerds and asked to set it off near a group of students. The explosion had knocked four people off their feet, and we were in gales of laughter for a good five minutes. Afterwards, Jimmy and Gary were asked by some students to target others with itching powder, marbles, stink bombs and eggs. The two worked together to rain the weapons down on the unsuspecting school body. I had to feel sorry for the guy who was hit by a stink bomb, tried to run away and slipped on some marbles, and then had an egg and itching powder drop onto him simultaneously.

Gary had an idea for a prank, and the four of us made our way towards Harrington House. When we arrived, we stood around Gary, waiting for him to explain, as he had been unwilling to divulge any details until we got here. “Okay, here’s the deal. We’re going to feed Chad’s dog some of this rancid meat. Wait for him to take a dump, and then-”

“What, what the hell?!” Pete looked disgusted at the thought of this prank, and I had to admit, I had lost hope for it when poop became involved. “I’m outta here.” He turned to look at me. “Wanna head down to the Hole with me?” he asked, and although not knowing what ‘the Hole’ was, I was sure it was the better option over dog poop.

“Sure.” Pete smiled and began to lead the way. I followed, giving Gary & Jimmy a wave as we left. “See you later.” Jimmy waved back, while Gary looked offended.

“Bye bye, babies. Have fun in Petey’s hole, Danny.” He jeered, and I let the comment slide as I caught up with Pete.

“So what’s the Hole?” I asked. Pete gave a knowing smile.

“It’s this place under the school where sometimes you could catch a big fight or two, but tonight, some of the other students have organised a rave down there. I thought it would be fun to check out.” He explained, pulling the hood of his bunny suit down. His cheeks were red, so I gathered that it must’ve been quite hot inside the suit. But I would be more than happy to help him remo- ‘ _Stop thinking like that, you little perv._ ’

I shook my head, ridding myself of the thought as I followed Pete through one of the doors at the back of the school. It was empty inside, which sent a chill down my spine. An empty school at night was not my idea of safe, more scary. “How are they going to get away with the music?” I asked, as Pete opened a door marked Boiler Room.

“Are you kidding? The walls are so thick a bomb could go off down there and no one would notice.” Pete smiled as we went in, and led the way down towards the very soft yet growing thump-thump of music.  I wasn’t sure what to expect from a rave planned entirely by students, but it couldn’t be worse than a prank involving dog crap, right?


	8. Chapter 8

I followed Pete quietly down the warm concrete hall. I could see light bouncing off a wall a little further down, and I could hear the music growing as we made our way. “So who actually thought this up, then?” I asked Pete as we walked.

“I’m not sure exactly who, I just know that it was organised in secret. Probably by some of the more popular students, like Derby Harrington and Ted Thompson, the guys who lead the Preps and the Jocks.” He shrugged, and I took that as answer enough. We turned a corner, the music becoming much louder and I could see the lights dancing around and shining on the students beneath them. As we walked towards the dancing students, a group of nerds including Algie, Fatty, Melvin, Cornelius and Beatrice dressed as elves and wizards were walking dejectedly away from the rest of the students.

Upon entering the main chamber of the Hole, I saw that there was actually a ladder to climb down to get into where most of the students were dancing. The hole had metal fencing around it where more students were dancing, getting refreshments and chatting. At the opposite side of where Pete and I stood, a man stood at a booth with a laptop, clearly DJ-ing the event. Speakers were placed all around, ensuring that the music was heard loudly by everyone present.

I didn’t see anyone acting as bouncers so maybe a couple of the more intimidating students had asked the nerd-group to leave. I imagined that they would find Petey before long and ask him to leave, but I hoped that he would go unnoticed. Although, in a pink rabbit suit, it was hard to be invisible. “I’ll go get us something to drink.” I offered.

Pete nodded and I made my way over to the table of refreshments. I grabbed two cups and poured what looked like something fruity into them. I took them back to Pete, handed him a cup and took a sip from my own drink. I was right in that it was fruity, but I could taste something that had a bite to it underneath the fruit, but I couldn’t tell what it was. Pete coughed as he took a sip, so he must’ve tasted it too.

As I continued to drink, I paid less and less attention to the unknown taste and more to the music and the students. _SOS_ by Rihanna was playing, and there were a variety of costumes being worn by the students – a witch, someone in a hockey mask, a werewolf, vampires, a princess, a pirate and an astronaut, to name a few, all dancing in and around the Hole. I placed my now empty cup down on a nearby table, and grabbing Pete’s arm, made my way towards the ladder. “Let’s not stand around all night, let’s go dance.” I said, smiling back to him. He almost dropped his cup as I pulled him towards the ladder, but the lad still grinned.

We climbed down into the Hole and found a spot where we could dance, and before long, the pair us had started to sweat as the song changed to _Monster_ by The Automatic. I was near certain that people wouldn’t be able to recognise me, so I began to sing along to the song as I danced, laughing with Pete as we had proper fun for what felt like the first time in a long while.

We continued to dance through _Sexyback_ by Justin Timberlake and _Everytime We Touch_ by Cascada, but I had noticed a couple other students giving Pete a push and yanking at his costume. Eventually, I pulled Pete aside. “Are you alright?” I was practically shouting in Pete’s ear to be heard over the music. Pete looked away, not meeting my eyes as he looked to the ground.

“I’m fine, Dan.” He yelled back, although I barely heard it.

“You’re sure? I saw some people giving you grief. We don’t have to stay if people are going to be mean to you.”

“It’s okay, we’ll stay.” He was quiet for a moment before looking up and smiling at me. “C’mon, let’s get another dri-” Pete’s sentence was cut off as he got a rough shove from behind. He fell hard against me and knocked me off balance. I almost hadn’t noticed that Pete’s lips had crashed into mine, teeth clicking together as we fell onto the warm concrete. A couple people around us began to laugh, and some jock told Pete that he shouldn’t pounce the first person to pay attention to him. From under my mask, I shot the jock a look, and he seemed to back away. I’m not sure if it was because I looked intimidating, or because he was just done with us, but either way, I’m glad he went.

Pete got to his feet and offered a hand out to me, which I gratefully took. “Thanks, Pete.” I smiled to him, and looked up towards the drinks table. “It’s really warm down here-” Pete gave me a look of ‘No-shit-Sherlock’ “- so I think I’m going to grab another drink.” Pete nodded, and I turned back to the ladder, making my way out of the throng of students.

I soon had my second drink poured and as I drank, I took a moment to step back and have another look around the party. It was clear that some people had put absolutely no effort into their costumes – the guy who was wearing the hockey mask, for example. Aside from the hockey mask, he was dressed in what he’d been wearing all day. From the hair, I had a feeling it was Gordon underneath, but I wasn’t sure in my judgement.

On the other hand, some people had either spent a lot of money on their costumes, or a lot of time making them. Pinky’s princess costume looked rather expensive, but of course, she looked radiant inside it. Vance’s pirate looked pretty authentic too, despite the fact that you could see the rest of his leg bent behind his peg-leg.

My gaze swept across the students again, looking for anyone else who was wearing an interesting costume, when I locked eyes with someone who was staring right back at me. I felt a chill go down my spine, knowing they could tell I was looking at them, as he smirked when I met his eyes. I looked him up and down, seeing him dressed as Colonel Custer, blue from head to toe, not counting the yellow gloves, yellow buttons and red scarf. But despite his entire face being visible, I had absolutely no idea who it was.

I then realised that he was gesturing for me to come and dance with him. I had to take a moment there. Was this really happening? A guy asking me to dance with him? I’d felt like I’d been pulled into an alternate dimension, but whether I had or not, I wasn’t going to pass the chance up. I quickly downed what was left of my drink, before starting towards the Hole again.

Where I walked right into Pete. Once I recovered from the collision, I could see that he looked quite upset, almost as if he’d been crying. “Are you alright, Pete?” I asked quietly, putting a hand to his shoulder. The boy nodded, not saying anything, and looked down at his feet. “You’re sure?”

“Yeah, I’m just really hot.” He mumbled, barely audible over the music. “I’m going to go get some air.” I didn’t have time to respond, as Pete quickly moved from under my hand to get out. I watched him until he turned the corner, hoping that he was alright. Upon turning back to the Hole, I saw the Colonel giving me that same look, and curling his outstretched finger towards him. I grinned at the gesture and made my way down to him.

As I approached him, the Colonel smiled. “I was beginning to think you weren’t going to come over.” He said when I got close enough to hear him over the music.

“Yeah, sorry about that.” I said, rubbing the back of my neck. “But you’ve got me now.”

“Can I keep you for a while? You’re the hottest Zorro I’ve ever seen.” He said, and I let out a small laugh.

“You really think so?” I asked, hoping I didn’t look as flustered as I felt. He nodded, and I bit my bottom lip. Someone at this school just told me I was hot. Not in so few words, but still. The only downside was that I was still clueless as to the identity of the student under the costume. “Thanks. You’re pretty handsome yourself, there, Colonel.” I said, winking up at him.

“Well, thanks a bunch.” He replied, giving me a pretend bow. I laughed before noticing the song had ended, and the next one had started, and I recognised it before it was five seconds into the intro. I recognised it because _Somebody To Love_ by the Boogie Pimps had been my guilty pleasure for going on two years.

“Why don’t we see if I can make you sweat?” I smirked, starting to move to the music.

“Sounds good to me, but we’ll dance first, right?” He shot back, putting me into a stunned silence. All I could do was dance and smile like a goofy idiot.

The song kept playing and we kept dancing. I was sure that we were steadily getting closer together, but I didn’t care – this guy, whoever he was, was flirting with me, and I was not going to pass up the chance to just let myself have fun. The Colonel’s hand rubbed against my arm, moving down to my hand, and taking it in his own, he spun me so my back was to him. I then felt his hands moving up and down my sides, and his warm breath on my neck and ear. I decided to turn up the heat and start moving my hips a bit more (what I hoped was) sexily, and I was pretty sure I felt my backside pressing against him for a moment or two.

I turned around so I could see the Colonel again, and was taken completely by surprise at what he did next.

Taking my face in his hands, he pulled himself right up to me and kissed me, pressing his lips hard against my own. My eyes were wide with surprise for a brief moment before they closed, my hands moving to hold the lapels of his jacket, and my lips began to move against his.

This was actually happening – I was being kissed by an attractive stranger. Why couldn’t this have been my first kiss, instead of that psycho, Gary? I wondered for a moment what Gary and Jimmy might have been up to, when I was interrupted by the Colonel’s tongue licking at my lips. I opened my mouth slightly, enough for my own tongue to poke out; making contact with the Colonel’s when it came to investigate.

He took full advantage of my now open mouth, and pushed his tongue past my lips, while at the same time, moving one hand up to finger through my hair and knocking my hat from my head, and moving the other arm to wrap around my waist. I also felt him pushing against me, so I stepped back, quickly finding myself pressed up against a wall.

We kissed deeply as our tongues fought each other, trying to outmanoeuvre and assert dominance over the other. I moved a hand to hold onto the back of his neck, while the other held onto his shoulder. I thought I felt something brush against my hand, but I ignored it, too busy enjoying the best kiss of my life.

I soon broke the kiss, desperate for air. I let my head rest on his shoulder for a moment, when I heard him laugh. “Is that your sword, Zorro, or are you just happy to see me?” I was confused, but I glanced to my crotch and was greeted by the sight of tented trousers. How had I not even realised I’d gotten hard? I could feel myself blushing, despite already looking red from the kissing.

I saw my hat lying by my foot, along with a second, blue hat lying at an angle atop it. It must’ve been the Colonel’s, which I felt touch me, but ignored. I smiled as I realised that now, without his hat, the colonel’s identity would be revealed. But when I looked up to discover who the mystery super-snogger was, my mouth fell open in shock.

Trent. The now-exposed blonde hair and the acne on his forehead were dead give-aways. I felt stupid for not recognising him earlier. My shock must’ve been visible to him, as he cocked his head slightly. “You alright, Zorro?” He asked, mouth close to my ear and hand cupping my face. His thumb was tracing over the scar on my face. The scar that he had given me. Oh yeah, I was the definition of alright.

I didn’t answer. I just quickly pushed him aside and began to charge through the crowd, desperate to get outside and get away. “Wait!” I heard him call, and I felt his hand grabbing my wrist, but I yanked it free, and made for the ladder. I scrambled up as if my life depended on it and darted up the corridor, not looking back to see if Trent was following. I left the underground chambers and came back into the school, and quickly left through one of the back doors.

I hurried down the steps and to the left, plotting the quickest route I could think of to the boys’ dorm. Once I was around the corner and past the library, I would jump the wall where the fence was missing, get inside and hide in my bed for the rest of the night.

My plan came to a sudden pause when I turned the corner and crashed head on into someone, knocking them over and falling on top of them. I apologised quickly before noticing that I had fallen onto Jimmy. He wasn’t wearing his Skeleton costume anymore and had changed back into his vest, shirt and trousers. He must’ve felt how freaked out I was about Trent, as he was quick to dismiss my apology and ask why I was in such a rush.

“I feel sick, and I want to go to sleep.” I lied, not wanting to explain what had happened.

Jimmy gave me a look that made me think he didn’t believe me, but just nodded. “Can you get off of me, something’s sticking into my leg.” At that point, I could have died. I knew full well what was poking him, and I cursed it for not having gone away since Trent kissed me. I was quickly on my feet, doing my best to hide my erection, and running for the boys’ dorm.

I made no attempt to be graceful as I pulled myself over the wall and hurried inside, and into my room, closing the door behind me and leaning against it. For a moment, I thought I was actually going to be sick, but after taking deep breaths, I was fine. I stayed leaning against that door for I don’t know how long, but when I moved, it was to go down to the dorm’s bathroom.

I stood in front of a sink and mirror and reached behind my head to pull at the knot of the mask, untying it and stuffing it into my pocket, along with the gloves. I looked at myself in the mirror, squinting slightly at the harsh fluorescent lighting, and shuddered at how pale I looked.

I splashed some water on my face, and dragged my hands through my hair before turning away from the mirror and going back to my room. I undressed quickly and crawled into bed, curling up on my side.

I must’ve fallen asleep, as the sound of the door closing woke me. It was very dark, the only light coming through the window from the moon. I stayed still as my eyes adjusted to the lack of light, and I could hear the shuffling of feet, along with heavy breathing and mumbled words.

“Gary…”

I had no doubt that was Pete’s voice. I looked toward the mirror and reflected in it, I saw Pete and Gary in a tangle of arms, moving towards Pete’s bed while Gary attacked Pete’s neck with bites, and Pete let out gasps that seemed to be a mix of pain and pleasure.

“Shut up, Petey, or you’ll wake the faggot.”  Gary muttered. They thought I was asleep? Well, if they had been quieter, I still would be.  I felt like I was seeing something I shouldn’t – like when I intruded on their kiss – but this was a lot more intimate. All the same, I couldn’t pull my eyes away from the mirror.

I could see that both were still in their costumes, but Gary had lost his hat, and Pete’s onsie hood was down. The back of Gary’s legs hit Pete’s bed, and they both went down, thumping onto the mattress. “Get that fucking rabbit suit off.” Gary commanded, and Pete quickly knelt up, unzipping the suit and shrugging it off of his shoulders.

It was soon completely off and thrown aside, leaving Pete in just his underwear. “You can lose them as well.” Pete was quick to remove them, and then straddled Gary’s lap, the Nazi’s hands running up his sides. I could see Pete’s backside sat on Gary’s crotch, which was bulging out.

“Get to it, then.” Gary said shortly, and Pete slowly moved off of Gary’s lap, with what looked like reluctance, and moved his hands to Gary’s belt. His fingers were moving quickly as the belt came undone, and he then unzipped the Nazi’s trousers. The manhood trapped inside then sprang out, smacking against Pete’s bottom lip as he had gotten his face pretty close.

It wasn’t that easy to tell through the mirror, but Gary’s erection looked impressive in length, but not very thick. If I had to put a number to it, I would’ve said it almost 8 inches long. It curved upwards slightly, with the foreskin bunched at the top of the smooth shaft. Considering how dark it was, I couldn’t see if there was any hair or not, but I was able to see Pete’s hand wrap around it and pull the foreskin back, exposing the head of Gary’s cock to the night air.

Pete slowly moved his hand up and down the shaft a couple times before Gary groaned. “Just hurry up and get it wet.” He shot, making Pete flinch ever so slightly. Pete’s mouth opened, and he took the head into his mouth. Gary let out a heavy breath, and moved his hand to the back of Pete’s head. He made small pleasured noises as Pete worked, gradually taking more of Gary into his mouth.  “Oh, yeah, Petey… have you been practicing? Your cock-sucking skills have considerably improved.”

Before long, Pete was moving his head up and down Gary’s entire length, whether it was out of choice, I don’t know, as I couldn’t tell if Gary’s hand was pushing him down, or if it were just resting his hand there. I, meanwhile, was unable to pull my eyes away from the mirror, and my own erection had tented my boxers. I had no idea why I was turned on by what I was watching, but I wasn’t going to question it now. All I could do was watch silently.

Gary, on the other hand, was letting out moans and swearing like it was nobody’s business. “Fuck, Petey, you’re so fucking good at this. Imagine if the whole school knew about your hot little mouth. The jocks would fucking ruin you.” His fingers then gripped Pete’s hair tight, and pulled his head off of his cock, making the boy whimper as he brought his head near his mouth.

“But you’re still _mine_. Never forget that, Petey. I _own_ you.” Pete’s eyes were shut tight, and he looked like he was crying, but nonetheless, he nodded. “Now sit on it, and I swear, if you wake that fucking faggot Daniel, I’ll give you a reason to cry.” Gary’s words were harsh, and I almost wanted to get up and punch him, but if I did, he wouldn’t let Pete hear the end of it.

Pete moved as quietly as he could, straddling Gary’s lap once again. He reached behind him, taking Gary’s cock in his hand and holding it steady. He lowered himself down on it, making small noises as it disappeared between his cheeks. I thought I could see beads of sweat rolling down Pete’s back, but it could easily have been a trick of the light.

“Don’t just sit there, ride it.” Gary ordered, and Pete began to lift himself back up, going back down again before there was chance for Gary to slip out of him. He didn’t go very fast, and he didn’t speed up either, he kept his slow, steady pace - to get used to the feeling of Gary inside him, I assumed, although I had doubts this was their first time.

It seemed Pete wasn’t going fast enough for Gary, as even while he rode him, Gary was thrusting up, causing Pete to moan with what sounded like pain. I felt bad that I was just lying there and watching, but at the same time, I couldn’t shake the feeling that this was regular for them. After seeing the way they had been kissing back on the evening of my arrival, this made sense. Their relationship was clearly more intimate than I had realised, but I could tell that one of the only reason Pete would go with something is because Gary would offer far more painful alternatives.

“Too slow, Petey.” I heard Gary say, breaking me from my thoughts. I looked to the mirror, and Gary grabbing Pete by the shoulder and moving him, making him kneel with his back to him. Gary then knelt behind Pete, and from the sounds the naked boy made, entered him roughly. He kept one arm around Pete’s stomach to hold him up, and the other around his neck, forcing Pete to look up.

Pete’s face was screwed up in pain as Gary began to thrust, and I saw a clear indicator that Pete wasn’t enjoying what was happening to him – he wasn’t erect in the slightest. Pete hung limp and lifeless, the only movement being it bouncing as Gary pushed into him. Gary was muttering obscenities as he used Pete; his voice, Pete’s gasps and a rapid slap of skin-on-skin being the only sounds in the room.

My eyes wandered up Pete’s body, and saw Gary’s head tilted back, a smile on his face as he cursed with obvious pleasure. Pete’s face was quite the opposite. Eyes shut tight, and he had bitten down on his lip. Going back to Gary, he had started to bite on Pete’s neck again, making Pete gasp and groan even more.

I couldn’t imagine what the poor lad must be feeling right now. Part of me wondered if Gary was really crazy enough to go as far as raping someone, but then if Pete wasn’t going to voice anything against what Gary was doing, despite how intimidating Gary was. On the other hand, given what I had seen before, then perhaps this was part of some strange arrangement the two had.

I was pulled away from my thoughts yet again as Pete’s groans grew suddenly louder. I remained still, not wanting them to think I was awake. Through the mirror, I noticed that Gary had quickened his pace. “Fuck, Petey, you’re so fucking tight...” Gary groaned into his ear. “I’m going to cum soon. You want it, don’t you, Petey?” Pete didn’t answer, just groaned and gasped. “Well, here it is.” Gary moaned, and I saw the thrusts become rougher, the bed making more noise. “You’re mine, and you’ll take it all.” He uttered, and gave a final thrust, pushing himself deep inside Pete as the boy groaned loudly.

I almost came myself just watching and listening to what was happening, but it didn’t happen. I watched as Gary pulled himself out of Pete and tucked himself back into his clothes. He then stepped off of the bed, grabbed Pete by the hair and pushed him down harshly onto the bed. “Clean yourself up. You stink.” Gary marched from the room, closing the door behind him.

The room fell silent once again, except for the very quiet sobbing. My heart ached for the boy, and I wanted to go to him, to comfort him, but if he had known that I had seen everything, he would be mortified. I couldn’t do that to him now. Instead I remained quiet, closed my eyes, and did my best to try and sleep while not thinking about what I had just witnessed.


	9. Chapter 9

I was quick to get out of the bedroom this morning. When I woke, Pete was sound asleep, and I readied myself as silently as I possibly could. I was determined not to wake the boy and avoid the possibility of having a far too awkward conversation about the previous night's events. It turned out that getting up early played in my favour – I felt wide awake, and bursting with energy, and with a couple hours to go before needing to be at Biology, I decided I would head down to the field and run a few laps.

When I had the idea, I'd not thought about the likelihood that the gym buildings and field would be swarming with jocks, but my luck kept going, and I was the only one around. However, I didn't take my time changing – the last thing I wanted was for any of the jocks to find me in my underwear.

I started having second thoughts about the run when I realised how cold it was now I had fewer clothes on, but warmth would soon come once the blood got pumping. And with that thought, I briskly walked down the steps and began to gently jog around the field. Before long, I was getting warmer and picking up speed. Every so often, I would notice another person walking down the steep stone steps and starting to run, and part of me hoped they wouldn't recognise me, and the other part hoped that if they did, they would be decent enough to not start any trouble. It was too early to get beaten up. Just to be on the safe side, though, I upped my pace, not wanting anyone to creep up behind me.

It must've been almost five laps later when I heard someone running behind me. I didn't want to look back out of fear that it was someone who would try and beat the stuffing out of me, so I just focused on running.

"Hey." A voice called from behind me, and I blame my British heritage for looking over my shoulder out of not wanting to appear rude. Behind me I saw a small brown-haired boy wearing a white Bullworth Academy t-shirt and blue shorts. I was only able to recognise him as a jock, as I had seen him with some of the other jocks tormenting a couple of the Astronomy Club goers during lunch a few days ago. "You've got some good stamina there. You were the only one running when I got here." He said, closing the distance between us so he could run alongside me.

"I try my best." I replied. In honesty, I was starting to get a little tired, so I dropped my pace slightly. He must've noticed, as he kept in time with me.

"You thought about trying out for the track team?" He asked, turning his head slightly to look at me. "You're pretty good, and we could use another member."

"I dunno. I only tend to run to keep fit. I've never done it as part of a competition or team before."

"Fair enough, I guess. I mean, I could always force you to join the team…" My head snapped around to look at him, and I ready to sprint away to safety. Seeing the scared look on my face made the boy laugh. "Don't worry, I was kidding. I won't make you join." I was still a little apprehensive of him, so I continued to run, falling silent aside from my breathing, which was becoming heavy with every few steps I ran.

It wasn't long before I knew I would have to stop, and I gradually slowed myself down, walking as I passed the wooden benches in front of the bleachers. The boy had kept up with me the whole way, but hadn't said another word to me. I sat on a bench and tried to regulate my breathing, while the boy picked up a bottle of water that was lying next to a blue sweater and took a swig from it. "Here." He said, screwing the cap back on and tossing the bottle to me. I only just managed to catch it and gave my thanks before drinking deeply.

"I'm Kirby." He told me as I drank. "What's your name?"

Re-capping the bottle, I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. "Danny." I answered, throwing the bottle back to him. He caught it with one hand and set it down, before extending his hand out to me.

"Nice meeting you, Danny."

"Likewise." I took his hand and shook it firmly. Without warning, my watch began to beep monotonously. Its digital display was flashing 8:15, telling me that if I wanted time for a shower before going to Biology, I was to go now.

"Somewhere to be?" Kirby asked as I pressed a button, silencing the noise.

"If I don't wanna be a sweaty, stinky mess for my first lesson, yeah." I got to my feet and gave Kirby a small smile. "See you around sometime." I waved goodbye, turning on my heel and heading back towards the gym.

"Race you." I'd barely travelled five feet when I heard him, and he was very quickly ahead of me, taking the steps two at a time. Not wanting to back down from the challenge, I took off after him. I was only just at the top of the steps when I saw Kirby round the corner to get into the gym. Once I was inside the building, Kirby was nowhere to be seen. Sprinting was my downfall. I could handle distance running, but sprinting just made me spend my energy too quickly.

I jogged down to the boys' locker room, and found Kirby stood by an open locker, stuffing the clothes he had been wearing inside. I tried my best to ignore the fact that he was naked save for a towel around his waist. "Maybe you're not as fast as I thought you were." He teased, looking over his shoulder at me while he shut the locker.

"Yeah, yeah." I smiled, brushing his comment off and going to my own locker to undress. Kirby was already showering by the time I was ready. I was lucky that there were two showers; otherwise I'd be stuck waiting for him. ' _Although a shower with him wouldn't be such a bad thing, would it?_ ' Kirby may have been a small guy, but he had clearly been working out. He had strong arms, with defined pecs, and the beginnings of a smooth six-pack. ' _Wonder what he was keeping under that towel…_ ' I shook the thought away as I felt the familiar stirrings of a semi rising under my own towel. The cold water that the shower produced quickly got rid of that, but I was thankful that the water was quick to warm up.

I had gotten to rinsing the shampoo out of my hair when I noticed a hole in the wall dividing the two showers. It was at waist height, and barely half a foot across, but through it, I could see Kirby's feet moving around as he washed. "Uh, Kirby…?" I called tentatively.

"Yeah, man?"

"Why is there a hole in the wall?"

"Oh, the glory hole?" came the response. I didn't need that part explained to me. The internet had seen to that a while ago. "Yeah, it's been there for years. I heard from Juri that Coach Burton knocked it through not long after he started teaching here. You know he's a massive perv, right?"

It was something I had noticed. During a lesson where he'd had us out on the field, I'd seen him leering at the girls who'd been out for cheerleading practise more than once. I hadn't realised he might be looking at any of the boys that way, though. "Yeah, I'd heard. Why'd he put in the boys' showers, though?"

"He doesn't just creep on the girls, y'know. Sometimes he hangs back after lessons, tries to get into the shower the same time as one of the guys. 'Makes men out of us boys' he says." I made a mental note to never be alone with Coach Burton when possible.

"Do you… know anyone who he's-"

"No! I wouldn't, of course not, no!" Came the rushed answer before I could even finish my question. The way he'd answered made me decide not to push the matter any further, and I went back to washing myself.

I wasn't sure how long it had been, but I was almost done when I heard what sounded like grunting, then heavy breathing coming from Kirby's side of the wall.

"You okay in there?" I called, curious.

"Yeah, fine… Just stubbed my toe." He answered, still sounding slightly breathless.

"If you're sure." I said, turning off the shower and stepping out into the cold air. Thankful that no one was around, I quickly wrapped the towel around my waist, and opened my locker, fishing for my watch. ' _Ten to nine..._ ' Students with Gym first thing would be arriving soon, so I dried and dressed as fast as I could.

Kirby was only just out of the shower as I slung my bag over my shoulder. His still wet hair clung to his forehead, and the water was running rivulets down his chest and stomach. I forced myself to stop staring at his body, and smiled at him. "It's almost 9, so I gotta shoot. See you around." I waved goodbye before heading out the room. I took the stairs two at a time before walking quickly to the main building, determined not to be late for Biology.

When I opened the door, I was quick to scan the room for Pete, and saw him sat with his head laid face down in his folded arms. As I walked over to the empty seat beside him, I took a deep breath and pushed all thoughts of last night from my head. Playing dumb would save Pete from being embarrassed to death. I dropped my bag on the floor and sat down, but Pete didn't move. I waited a moment before giving him a gentle nudge with my elbow. "Pete?" I gave him a sharper nudge and he sat up right, looking dazed, and as he turned to look at me, I noticed a noticed a drop of drool resting at the corner of his mouth. "You've- er, got a little…" I advised, gesturing to the corner of my own mouth. He took the hint and pulled a tissue from his pocket, wiping his mouth with it.

"Thanks, Danny." He smiled, stowing the tissue. "When'd you get here?"

"Only just sat down. Barely made it."

"That's a point – where were you this morning?" He asked, furrowing his eyebrows as he rested his elbows on the desk and put his head in his hands. "When I woke up and you weren't around, I thought you were in the bathroom or something, but you didn't come back before I left."

"I went for a run down on the field. Didn't worry you too much, did I?" I joked, smiling.

"No, I didn't think you were kidnapped or dying in a gutter or anything." He replied casually, his own smile playing on his lips.

I was just reaching down to get my notepad and pen from my bag when the bell rang through the room, and the last of the students hurried into the room. I sat back up in time to see Kirby stroll in and head towards the back of the room, one of the other jocks giving him a punch in the arm. His hair still looked damp, so he must've rushed drying and dressing just now.

The door opened once again, and Dr. Slawter walked into the room, holding a folder against his side. He set it down on his desk and turned to face the class. "Good morning, children." He began, already giving off the air of creepy mad professor. "Today, we'll be moving onto the dissection of rats." He explained, picking up a stick of chalk and writing 'RATS' on the board in large letters. He then began to write the organs that were to be identified and removed before the end of the lesson, while explaining to the class that rats were misunderstood creatures and shouldn't be believed to be the disease carrying vermin the media portrays. I had to agree there – I had a friend back home who'd had a pet rat, and she was the sweetest thing, wouldn't harm a fly. "You can collect a rat and the tools from the worktops at the side." He pointed to his left. "Get to work. St. James & Olsen, I'd like a word with you both."

I gave Pete a look before getting to my feet and walking to the front. I looked back and saw Kirby was also coming over, and putting two and two together led me to him being Olsen. When we both reached the desk, Dr. Slawter was rubbing his temples. "You two are yet to have completed a frog dissection to a suitable standard, so I can't let you progress yet. Your written work was good, but your practical efforts have been lacking." I looked down in embarrassment. It wasn't that I hadn't been trying. I had just started feeling sick every time I'd cut the frog open, and then I couldn't finish because I needed to run to the toilet. "I've got one more frog left before I have to order a new batch, so I can't let you both have one. You're to work together on this frog, and if you can do well today, you'll both pass and you can move on next week, okay?" We both nodded, and he handed Kirby a sticky note with the organs that we needed to remove. "Your frog is right at the end. Good luck, boys." He sat down and began to flick through the folder he'd brought in while Kirby and I headed to collect the frog.

"So why haven't you finished the frog yet?" Kirby asked as he picked up the tools. I picked up the tray with the lifeless frog on, holding it away from me at arm's length. "I mean, not that you're a nerd or anything, but you look like you're smart."

"To be honest, I'm not in love with the thought of cutting open a dead animal and taking its innards out." My nose wrinkled as I looked at the frog in front of me. The poor thing didn't deserve to have a scalpel stuck in its belly and its insides played with. "I kept feeling sick every time I tried."

"Then how about this," Kirby began as we walked to the empty worktop at the back of the room. "I'll do all the cutting and stuff, and you tell me which organ's what. That way you don't have to get your hands dirty, and we both pass?"

I set the frog down, now feeling less anxious about the task in front of me. "That sounds like a very good plan." I agreed, smiling at the boy. Once he was seated, I slid the tray in front of him. "The sooner we finish, the better." I had a quick look over the organs needed, while Kirby began to pin the frog's limbs down. When he picked up the scalpel, I looked away, pretending that the list of organs held the secrets to life itself.

Once the frog was open and secure, Kirby gave me a nudge. "Right, what are we looking for?" He asked, and I looked back at the list.

"The heart's first up." I built myself up before looking to the exposed frog. It took a moment, but I was eventually able to find it, and gave it a gentle prod with the forceps. "There, that's the heart." Kirby nodded and a look of determination crossed over his face as he began to carefully cut around the heart, and then gently use the forceps to remove it and place it on the tray.

Removing the stomach and intestines also went off without a hitch, and we soon had everything we needed laid out on the tray beside the frog. "Looks to me like we're done." Kirby commented, standing up and stretching out his arms. "I'll take this over to Slawter, see if he'll pass us." He picked up the tray and carried it to Dr. Slawter's desk. He almost knocked Pete over as he passed the boy, but he regained his balance and came over, leaning against the worktop.

"How was working with Kirby then?" He asked, throwing a glance over his shoulder to the boy in question. "Did he threaten you with 'poundcake' if you didn't do everything?" I raised my eyebrow and shook my head.

"No, actually. I told him I wasn't good with doing the cutting, so he said he'd do that if I told him what we needed to find. He was really nice about it." I explained, half looking at Pete, half looking past him and watching Kirby talk with Dr Slawter. I couldn't hear them from where I was sat, but it seemed to be going well. Kirby was smiling, at least.

"Doesn't sound like him." Pete replied, a hint of annoyance in his voice. "He's usually one to try and use his muscle to get him what he wants. Not that his size always helps."

"Well, he seems like a nice enough guy to me." I said, now giving Pete my full attention. He had crossed his arms over and was staring down at them, chewing on his bottom lip. "Anyone would think that you're jealous, Pete." I teased, only half joking. He did seem somewhat annoyed that I was getting on with Kirby.

At my words, his face reddened and he turned on the spot. "I'm not jeal- that's just ridiculous." I held back my snigger at his reaction, and gave him a gentle pat on the shoulder.

"I was only kidding, Pete. I didn't mean to get you worked up." I said softly. He didn't turn around, and just shrugged my hand off his shoulder.

"I need to go clean up." He stated before stalking off back to his own desk. I couldn't help but frown, worried that I'd actually upset the boy. Hopefully I'd get the chance to talk to him later and try to make it up to him. But I pushed those thoughts aside when I saw Kirby walking back towards me, tray in hand.

"Tell me we passed?" I held my breath with anticipation. I'd never done so badly in a class before, and I needed to catch up with the rest. My parents would not have been happy to hear I was so behind.

"He was pretty pleased with it, so he's passing us." He said, smiling. He seemed just as happy about passing as I was. I was grateful that he'd taken up the cutting part of the task, otherwise it's likely I would've failed again.

We both had smiles that stretched across our faces, and his brown eyes had met my blue. I hadn't had a proper look at his face earlier, but now I could see that his eyes had more of a bronze look to them; his nose was slightly wide, but still looked small on his face; and his smile made dimples appear in his cheeks, which had turned slightly pink as he realised I was looking at him looking at me.

If I'd not flustered him slightly, he might've watched where he was going, and have missed the chair leg. Instead, his foot caught it, he fell forward, and the tray with the frog and its organs on flew towards me and splattered onto my chest. As I felt the cold liquids that had been inside the frog seep through my clothes, and the frog and its entrails fell to the floor, I swallowed back the bile in my throat.

As calmly as I could, I stood and walked to Dr. Slawter's desk, stepping over Kirby on the way. "I need to go to the toilet." I mumbled through clenched teeth, not waiting to be allowed before walking out of the classroom, bolting for the toilet once the door had shut.

I must've been hugging the toilet bowl for quarter of an hour before I finally found the strength to stand back up. My legs felt weak, and I knew I'd need something to eat. Thankfully, it wasn't long until lunch, so that would solve that problem, but I'd need to head back, shower and change my clothes first. There was no way I could spend the rest of the day in a frog-stained jumper.

I slowly made myself move to the sink, and bent down to the tap, washing my mouth out. Swirling the water around my mouth, I tried to think of the positives: I'd passed Biology with Kirby's help, and no one had been around to see me vomit. Although I was completely pissed off with Kirby for throwing the frog guts all over me, I couldn't really blame him. He had tripped, after all.

I spat the water out and dried my hands on a paper towel, the bell ringing for lunch just as I left the room. I headed for the Biology lab to pick up my things, but as I turned the corner, I saw Kirby leave the room with my bag in his hands. He looked around for a moment before spotting me and jogging over. "I am so, so sorry about spilling the frog over you, it was a total accident, I should've been looking where I was going, and –"

"Kirby, chill, it's okay." I sighed, interrupting his apology. I reached out to take my bag, and he handed it to me. "I'm gonna have to change, but seriously, I'm good." I lied, but I would definitely be better once I'd eaten. Although, Edna's cooking would still be taking risks. "I know it was an accident. I probably should've reacted quicker too." I smiled, hoping that might turn his mood around.

"You're sure?"

"100 per cent." At that, he let out a sigh of relief.

"Good. I was kinda worried about you." Hearing that made me smile, but Kirby suddenly went red and turned around. "I mean, I thought I'd hurt you and didn't want to get in trouble!" I let out a small laugh and he looked back over his shoulder at me. "We still passed, by the way."

"Good. I'd hate to have to worry about wearing another frog." I laughed, and Kirby joined in. "I definitely need another shower before next class, so I'll see you around." I gave him a pat on the shoulder before putting my bag over my shoulder and heading for the stairs.

Now that I'd thought about the next lesson, I was feeling anxious. It was Music, and it was the lesson Miss Peters wanted me to perform in. I'd manage to choose a song, and I'd convinced a few other students to play some of the instruments. We'd rehearsed plenty of times, and were due to rehearse once more during the end of lunch. The prospect of performing in front of everyone was starting to weigh pretty heavily, but I was hopeful that we'd be fine. But I definitely could not perform with dirty clothes on. With that, I jumped the last couple of steps and ran out of the building, heading back to the boys' dorm.


	10. Chapter 10

It felt so good to be out of damp, frog-stained clothes and into something clean. I'd made sure I didn't spend too long in the shower, as I needed to make sure that I had enough time before Music started to meet with Christy, Ivan, Lance and Trevor to rehearse our song at least one more time.

I hurried into the school and down to the cafeteria, getting a wave from Jimmy as I descended into the room. I grabbed a tray, along with a plate of something that didn't look like it would have me bedridden for the next week, and joined him at the table. He and Pete were talking about what they might write their rat reports for Dr Slawter on, but they stopped as I sat down.

"You're looking cleaner," Jimmy said with a small grin on his face.

"Feeling it too," I smiled before eating a mouthful of whatever I'd picked up. Going by the taste, it was cottage pie.

"I can't believe Kirby just threw that frog over you. Want me to beat the tar out of that dick?" Jimmy asked, looking over his shoulder to where Kirby sat on the far table with some other Jocks. Ted looked to be giving him a hard time as he gave the brunette a punch in the arm.

"Oh, no, don't. He didn't throw it on me, he tripped and it just went over me. Couldn't have been helped," I explained, wanting Jimmy to chill out a bit. "And he was nice enough to get my things for me and come apologise. He was really sweet about it."

I glanced to Pete and saw him looking down at his folded arms on the table. Had I really upset him with what I had said earlier? I'd have to talk to him later this evening and try to straighten things out. I would've said something then and there, but Pete got to his feet, saying he had to go and see Mr Galloway about his grades in English, and left.

Jimmy and I continued to eat as Jimmy told me about what he'd been up to the last night with Gary – they had gotten crap from Chad's dog in a paper bag and set it on fire in the school. Evidently, the place had not burnt down. Once he'd left Gary, Beatrice found him, and she blackmailed him into getting her diary out of the staff room after Hattrick confiscated it from her.

"How was she gonna blackmail you?" I asked, pushing a lump of mashed potato around with my fork before eating it.

"She wrote about how we're so in love, and I do not need lies like that getting out. People already think I'm a laughing stock." I couldn't help but snigger quietly. "My point exactly."

"Well, it was very noble of you, Jimmy." I said, going from quiet laughter to a simple smile. "Even if your intentions were to save your own arse."

Jimmy was quiet for a moment, before looking concerned. "I don't look like I've got a cold sore or something coming up, do I?" he asked.

I leant forward slightly, examining his face and lips. "No, you look just as handsome as ever. Why?"

"No reason," he said, quickly going back to eating his own food. I was puzzled for a moment before the penny dropped.

"You didn't?" He was silent. "Oh, my God, you did?" I put down my fork with genuine shock.

"You shut your whore mouth, Dan," Jimmy threatened, brandishing his fork at me.

"I'm not the one with the whore mouth at this table," I answered. I was both scared by Jimmy's threat, but also amused by the fact that him and Beatrice had kissed.

"For the record,  _she_  kissed me," Jimmy hissed, trying to make sure I was the only one who heard.

"Okay, okay, I believe you. I'd make a comment about your taste in girls but you look like you've beat yourself up enough over this as it," I said, trying not to laugh again.

"I swear to God, Dan, I will-"

"Danny?" A voice called cutting off Jimmy's threat. I turned towards the voice and saw Ivan making his way over.

"Oh, hey," I smiled at him, wondering what he wanted before it clicked. "Oh, crap, am I late?" I asked, beginning to panic that I'd wasted valuable rehearsal time.

"No, no, we're just all set up now and ready whenever," he explained, and stopped my panicking.

"Okay. Let me just finish eating and go to the toilet, I'll be right there." Ivan nodded, and turned to leave the cafeteria while I started to rush through eating what was left on my plate.

"What was that about?" Jimmy asked, looking confused.

"Give it 20 minutes, you'll find out," I answered with a wink. I swallowed the last mouthful and said a quick goodbye to Jimmy before getting up, dumping my tray and plate with the other dirty things and rushing off to the boys' toilets.

I was quick to do my business, and moved over to the sink to wash my hands. As I was rinsing off the soapy water and reaching for some paper towels, a flush rang through the room. A cubicle door opened and Trent stepped out, making his way straight for the exit. I immediately dipped my head, looking down at my hands as I dried them, not particularly wanting to get into a fight with the boy.

I heard his footsteps stop and I slowly looked up into the mirror, and caught him looking at my reflection. I looked back down again, and pretended like I had seen nothing, but I jumped with fright as a hand gripped my shoulder tightly and turned me round.

"You're that little punk who was with Hopkins when we were playing around with that nerdy kid, aren't ya?" I was too scared to answer, my eyes wide with fear as I looked him in the eye. "Aren't ya?!" he demanded as he shoved me against the wall of the bathroom. The last time he had me against a wall was definitely more enjoyable than our current position.

I swallowed and nodded. "I ought to kick your runt ass for all three of you!" He raised his free arm, hand balled into a fist at the end of it. I turned my head away and waited for the punch, but it didn't come. Instead, I heard him say something under his breath.

"Zorro?"

I turned my head back, realising that the side of my face he'd seen was the side that he had scarred the night Jimmy and I had gone to save Bucky. The scar that he had felt after he kissed me last night. He slowly dropped his fist and released his grip on my shoulder.

"You're the Zorro from last night?" he asked, looking at me with confusion. I gave my shoulder a rub as I nodded.

"Yeah. That was me." Hearing that, Trent took a step back, looking somewhat flustered.

"I- I didn't know." He rubbed the back of his neck as he looked down at the floor. "I'm sorry. For saying I'd kick your ass." As much as I appreciated it, I was taken aback by the apology.

"Thanks, but why the change of heart?" Trent was starting to look like he was blushing. He let out a sigh before making eye-contact with me

"D'you remember what I said to you last night?" he asked. I thought for a moment before shaking my head. Trent's brow furrowed slightly, and he took a small step closer. "Said I thought you were hot. That you were the hotte-"

"-hottest Zorro you'd ever seen," I finished for him, as the memory of him saying that popped into my head.

"You do remember then?" He asked, a small smile appearing on his face. "I wasn't just sayin' it so you'd kiss me. I meant it." I felt a smile growing on my own face at Trent's words.

"Another thing, I'm sorry about that," he said, pointing at my scarred cheek. "If it makes you feel better, I think the scar makes you look hot." That got a laugh out of me. I wasn't angry about the scar anymore. I'd had plenty of time to get used to it, and now it was just another part of my face.

He grinned at my laughter. "You're not pissed at me?" he asked.

"I was. But not anymore, no." He seemed relieved at that.

"Good." He was quiet for a moment, and we just looked at each other before he spoke again. "Listen, I think we got off on the wrong foot, know what I mean?" He stuck his hand out to me. "Name's Trent." He smiled, and I eventually shook his hand with my own.

"Daniel."

"S'good to meet ya, Daniel," Trent said, smiling as we shook hands. We let go of each other's hands, and stood there in an awkward silence for a moment before Trent spoke. "Hey, if you're not doing anything tomorrow at lunch, would you maybe… wanna eat with me?" he asked, almost sounding nervous.

"Uh, sure… yeah," I answered, nodding with a smile. "That sounds nice." Trent smiled and started to back up towards the exit.

"Great, cool. I guess I'll see ya later then," and with that, he left. I turned to look at myself in the mirror, wondering if all that had just happened, before I looked to my watch to see there was only 10 minutes before class started.

' _Shit_.'

I ran towards the Music room, and once inside, apologised profusely to the others for taking so long, making up an excuse about nerves of performing giving me an upset stomach. Trevor said he'd felt the same earlier, and then Ivan and Lance confessed that they were both really nervous too. We all began talking over each other, until Christy grabbed a drumstick and hit it against a cymbal, getting our attention.

"Can we get one more practise run in then so we're not all crapping ourselves over this?" she asked, looking impatient.

"Yeah, let's get on with it," Lance chimed in. Everyone went to their positions, Lance, Ivan and Christy each grabbing a guitar and standing behind a microphone. Trevor settled himself behind the drum-kit, and I stood behind a mic, looking out over the soon-to-filled chairs of the empty classroom.

"Ready?" Trevor called out, before counting us in.

"1, 2, 3, 4."

* * *

"Take your seats, everyone!" Miss Peters called loudly, trying to get everyone to settle. Christy, Ivan, Lance, Trevor and I were all in our seats waiting for what was to come, while everyone else was talking amongst themselves. I could hear some talking about why there were several instruments set out at the front that looked ready for a band to come in and use.

I felt a tap on my shoulder, and turned to see Jimmy leaning over his desk towards me. "Is this why you ran off with that Ivan kid?" he asked, a small grin on his face.

"Maybe," I answered, trying not to think about the performance too much. Even with all the practising, I was still really nervous, and getting more so with each passing second. Once everyone had taken their seat, Miss Peters smiled across the room.

"It's lovely to see all your young faces again as we come together to explore the wonder of music and relish in the creativity that is ready to break free from us all," she said airily. "But first, we have a performance from a handful of budding musicians. If they could make themselves known and take their places, we'd all love to see and hear what you have to show us."

As Miss Peters made her way to the side of the classroom, the five of us performing stood up, and made our way towards the front. Before I left my seat, I glanced to Jimmy, who gave me a thumbs-up. I smiled, and took my place at the front of the class.

It was only as I stood up there now that I realised what an odd bunch we must look like. But it was too late for that now, we had a song to sing, and the sooner we got through it, the better. I took a deep breath, exhaled slowly, and put a hand around the mic.

"Hi. We're gonna be doing  _Dirty Little Secret_  by The All-American Rejects." I looked back over my shoulder to Trevor, signalling for him to count us in for the last time.

"1, 2, 3, 4."

The others began to play the intro of the song, and I counted in my head when I needed to come in, and I noticed a supporting smile from Jimmy. I also noticed Trent sat towards the back of the class, arms crossed on the desk he was leaning forward over, and staring at me with a small smile on his face.

" _Let me know that I've done wrong_  
When I've known this all along  
I go around a time or two  
Just to waste my time with you

_Tell me all that you've thrown away_  
_Find out games you don't wanna play_  
_You are the only one that needs to know_

_I'll keep you my dirty little secret_  
_(Dirty little secret)_  
_Don't tell anyone or you'll be just another regret_  
_(Just another regret, hope that you can keep it)_  
_My dirty little secret_ "

I caught Jimmy's eye again, and the look on his face was priceless. I had been singing this song whenever I could for the past fortnight or so in order to memorise the words, and I was sure he must've heard me at some point. But it seemed that only now was he really listening, and if his face was anything to go by, he was impressed.

" _Who has to know_  
When we live such fragile lives  
It's the best way we survive  
I go around a time or two  
Just to waste my time with you

_Tell me all that you've thrown away_  
_Find out games you don't wanna play_  
_You are the only one that needs to know_

_I'll keep you my dirty little secret_  
_(Dirty little secret)_  
_Don't tell anyone or you'll be just another regret_  
_(Just another regret, hope that you can keep it)_  
_My dirty little secret_ "

As my eyes swept over the classroom, I saw Trent's feet tapping away to the rhythm of the song. Looking at him made me think about what he asked me. Did other people know he was into guys? It certainly didn't seem like he was in the closet, but we were alone in the bathroom earlier, and in costumes last night, so he could've gone unrecognised then too. Also, what would his bully mates think if they saw him with me? Would they think he was picking on me, and try to join in? I looked away, and focused back on the song.

" _Who has to know_  
_The way she feels inside (inside)_  
_Those thoughts I can't deny (deny)_  
_These sleeping thoughts won't lie (won't lie)_  
_And all I've tried to hide_  
_It's eating me apart_  
_Trace this life out_ "

Suddenly, I was thinking back to Pete. What I had seen last night between him and Gary, and how I had seemed to upset him earlier. I really needed to get things sorted with him. I wanted to apologise for upsetting him, and I wanted to help him get out of whatever it was that he had going on with Gary. He couldn't possibly be happy with the guy, but maybe he felt like he couldn't leave him alone because Gary actually looks out for him from time to time. Plus, Gary's an intimidating psycho and that alone could probably stop Pete from trying to break things off. But Pete was the first friend I had made here, and I'd be damned if he was going to be the first friend I lost here too.

" _I'll keep you my dirty little secret_  
(Dirty little secret)  
Don't tell anyone or you'll be just another regret  
(Just another regret)

_I'll keep you my dirty little secret_  
_(Dirty little secret)_  
_Don't tell anyone or you'll be just another regret_  
_(Just another regret, hope that you can keep it)_  
_My dirty little secret_  
_Dirty little secret_  
_Dirty little secret_

_Who has to know_  
_Who has to know_ "

Miss Peters was the first to start clapping, but very quickly the whole class was applauding us. Well, all bar two jocks who were arm-wrestling on a back table, but I could easily ignore them. I looked back towards the others, smiling brightly, and saw their pleased faces. They abandoned their instruments and gathered around me, and we all babbled about how well it seemed to have gone. Christy even pulled us all into a group hug.

"Well done, children! That was an inspiring performance! The school's choir could do with some of those strong voices." She came closer to us and lowered her voice for us. "That was great, guys, I'm so proud of you all." She turned back to face the class. "I hope that some of you in the audience take something from this – don't be afraid to express yourself! These kids took a risk performing in front of you, but they did their best, and in my opinion, they were amazing. If any of you would like to perform something in a future lesson, come to me and we can arrange it. But one last round of applause for Dan, Christy, Ivan, Lance and Trevor!" The class applauded us again, and we took a small bow before going back to our seats.

My heart was pounding in my chest, so glad that it was over, but so pleased that everyone seemed to enjoy it. I felt myself being tapped on the shoulder again, and I turned to see Jimmy grinning. "That was awesome, man! Well fucking done."

"Thanks. Glad it's over though," I replied, smiling with a mix of relief and pride.

"You should be on one of those singing talent shows, you'd do great," Jimmy said, moving to lean back in his seat.

"Nah, I wasn't that good. You don't need to blow smoke up my arse, Jimmy," I chuckled.

"I could do worse to it," Jimmy smirked, crossing his arms as he looked at me. I rolled my eyes and turned back to face the front, where Miss Peters was now starting one of her talks about the elegance and simplicity of music.

* * *

When the bell finally rang for the end of the day, I was one of the last to leave the classroom. Along with Christy, Ivan, Lance and Trevor, we were kept back by Miss Peters as she once again congratulated us on our performance. She eventually let us all go after trying to persuade us to join the choir and perform at the Christmas Pageant. We agreed to the pageant but not to the choir, each of us claiming we were too busy to join the club. I said a quick goodbye to each of the others before heading downstairs and out of the building.

"'Bout time you got out. Miss Peters still fawning over you?" I heard a voice ask as the door swung shut behind me. I turned my head to see Jimmy leaning against the white marble column.

"Not really. She just tried to get us to sign up for more musical things," I answered, walking over to the nearby vending machine. I pulled out my wallet to get some money, but Jimmy stepped over and put his hand over it, stopping me.

"Put your money away," he said, before delivering a swift kick to the side of the machine. A few moments later, it groaned and dropped out a cold can of cola. Jimmy leant down, grabbed the can and handed it to me.

"Thanks, man," I smiled appreciatively, taking the can and popping it open. I took a long drink before lowering the can. "Were you out here waiting for me?" I asked, an eyebrow raised slightly.

"Yeah, actually, I was," he answered, turning and starting to pace along the concrete. "There was somethin' I wanted to talk to you about."

"Oh, okay, sure." I walked over to a nearby bench and sat down, patting the space next to me for Jimmy. "I'm listening." Jimmy paused for a moment, before walking over and sitting down next to me, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees.

"Look, I'm just gonna come out with it, okay?" He said, still staring straight ahead. I heard him take a breath before turning to look at me. "I think you're hot, dude." That was not at all what I had expected to hear from him. A silence hung between us for a moment before I finally spoke.

"Uh, thank you?" I said with confusion, still processing the new information.

"It's cool. I wanted to tell you last night, and I was coming to find you, but when you ran into me, you ran off before I could say anything." I blushed faintly as I remembered why I had legged it so quickly. "I was hoping you'd still be at that party thing. I heard someone spiked the drinks, and thought I could get a little Dutch courage before saying anything." Someone had spiked the drinks? That explained why they had tasted a little weird. And why I was all over Trent so quickly.

"Jimmy, this is really unexpected, I mea-" I couldn't finish what I had to say, as Jimmy had leant over and kissed me. For someone who gave off this persona of being a tough guy, he had surprisingly soft lips. We stayed like that for a couple seconds before Jimmy pulled away, a cheeky look on his face.

"Not bad." I gave him a punch to the arm for that remark.

"Get over yourself, Hopkins," I laughed.

"Sorry, man," he said, rubbing his arm. "Just had to do it. Felt like it for a while now. Plus, better saying you're the last person I kissed than that Beatrice chick." I grinned, and Jimmy got to his feet. "We cool?" he asked, putting his closed fist out towards me.

"Yeah, we're cool," I agreed, and bumped my fist against his.

"Sweet. Catch you later, man," he said, waving before turning and heading for the stairs.

Out of all the things that had happened to me in this school, that was up there as one of the strangest. I would never have expected Jimmy to just kiss me like that, or even tell me that he thought I was attractive. The way he'd said it made it seem like he wasn't looking to make a thing out of it. Just that he needed to get it off his chest. Either way, it was sweet of him.

I stood up, drained the rest of the can and threw it in the bin before making my way over to the library. Pedro was probably already there waiting for me, ready to show me how he'd done on his last test.


End file.
